You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.
Parallel Translations
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You have turned to be cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.
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Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
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Thou art turned to be cruel to me; with the might of Thy hand Thou hatest me.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Job 30:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 10:14-17 if I sin, then you mark me. You will not acquit me from my iniquity. If I am wicked, woe to me. If I am righteous, I still will not lift up my head, being filled with disgrace, and conscious of my affliction. If my head is held high, you hunt me like a lion. Again you show yourself powerful to me. You renew your witnesses against me, and increase your indignation on me. Changes and warfare are with me.
- Job 16:9-14 He has torn me in his wrath and persecuted me. He has gnashed on me with his teeth. My adversary sharpens his eyes on me. They have gaped on me with their mouth. They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully. They gather themselves together against me. God delivers me to the ungodly, and casts me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, and he broke me apart. Yes, he has taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces. He has also set me up for his target. His archers surround me. He splits my kidneys apart, and does not spare. He pours out my bile on the ground. He breaks me with breach on breach. He runs at me like a giant.
- Job 10:3 Is it good to you that you should oppress, that you should despise the work of your hands, and smile on the counsel of the wicked?
- Job 19:6-9 know now that God has subverted me, and has surrounded me with his net. “Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. I cry for help, but there is no justice. He has walled up my way so that I can’t pass, and has set darkness in my paths. He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.
- 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
- Job 6:9 even that it would please God to crush me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
- Job 7:20-21 If I have sinned, what do I do to you, you watcher of men? Why have you set me as a mark for you, so that I am a burden to myself? Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity? For now will I lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I will not be.”
- Job 13:25-28 Will you harass a driven leaf? Will you pursue the dry stubble? For you write bitter things against me, and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth: You also put my feet in the stocks, and mark all my paths. You set a bound to the soles of my feet, though I am decaying like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten.
- Job 19:22 Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
- Job 23:6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No, but he would listen to me.
- Psalms 77:7-9 “Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more? Has his loving kindness vanished forever? Does his promise fail for generations? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?”
- Psalms 89:13 You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted.
- Jeremiah 30:14 All your lovers have forgotten you. They don’t seek you. For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins were increased.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He speaketh not thus to accuse God, but to…
He speaketh not thus to accuse God, but to declare the vehemency of his affliction, whereby he was carried beside himself.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Job 30:21 Thou art become cruel to me: with…
Job 30:21 Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
Ver. 21. Thou art become cruel to me] Mutatus es mihi in tyrannum, thou art turned tyrant towards me, so Brentius rendereth it; and the like he had said before, Job 16:13; Job 19:8-10, out of the vehemency of his pain, and the sense of his flesh, which should have been silenced, and faith exalted; the property whereof is to pick one contrary out of another (as life out of death, assurance of deliverance out of deepest distresses, Deu 32:36), and to persuade the heart that God concealeth his love, out of increased love, and in very faithfulness afflicteth his darlings, that he may be true to their souls, Psa 119:75.
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With thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me] Thou hatest me, Satanically hatest me; Intestinum odium exerces adversum me (Tremell.); and accordingly thou dost practise all thy might upon me. Thus Job in his heat; and that he may not seem to rage without reason, he subjoineth.
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 Become cruel, Heb. turned to be cruel; as if…
Become cruel, Heb. turned to be cruel; as if thou hadst changed thy very nature, which is kind, and merciful, and gracious; and such thou hast been formerly in thy carriage to me; but now thou art grown severe, and rigorous, and inexorable.
Thou opposest thyself against me; thy power wherewith I hoped and expected that thou wouldst have supported me under my troubles thou usest against me.
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 Thou art become cruel to me,.... Or "turned", or…
Thou art become cruel to me,.... Or "turned", or "changed" (g), to be cruel to me. Job suggests that God had been kind and gracious to him, both in a way of providence, and in showing special love and favour to him, in a very distinguishing manner; but now he intimates his affections were changed and altered, and these were alienated from him, and his love was turned into an hatred of him; this is one of the unbecoming expressions which dropped from his lips concerning God; for the love of God to his people is never changed; it remains invariable and unalterable, in all dispensations, in every state and condition into which they come; there may be some of God's dispensations towards them, which may have the appearance of severity in them; and he may make use of instruments to chastise them, which may use them cruelly; but even then his heart yearns towards them, and, being full of compassion, delivers out of their hands, and saves them, Jer 30:14;
with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me; God has a strong hand and arm, and none like him, and sometimes he puts forth the strength of it, and exerts his mighty power in afflicting his people, and his hand presses them sore, and they can scarcely stand up under it; and then it becomes them to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, and patiently bear it; and sometimes they take him to be their adversary, an enemy unto them, and filled with hatred of them, indignation against them, setting himself with all his might and main to ruin and destroy them; and this is a sad case indeed, to have such apprehensions of God, though unjust ones; for, as if God be for us, who shall be against us? so if he be against us, it signifies little who is for us; for there is no contending with him, Job 9:3.
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(g) "mutatus es", V. L. Tigurine version; "versus es", Beza, Piscator; so Drusius, Cocceius, Vatablus, Michaelis, Mercerus, Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Turned - As if thou hadst changed thy very…
Turned - As if thou hadst changed thy very nature, which is kind, and merciful, and gracious.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. Thou art become cruel to me] Thou…
Verse 21. Thou art become cruel to me] Thou appearest to treat me with cruelty. I cry for mercy, trust in thy goodness, and am still permitted to remain under my afflictions.
Thou opposest thyself] Instead of helping, thou opposest me; thou appearest as my enemy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Thou art become cruel to me - Margin, turned…
Thou art become cruel to me - Margin, turned to be. This language, applied to God, seems to be harsh and irreverent, and it may well be inquired whether the word cruel does not express an idea which Job did not intend. The Hebrew word אכזר 'akzâr, is from an obsolete root כזר - not found in Hebrew. The Arabic root, nearly the same as this, means to break with violence; to rout as an enemy; then to be enraged. In the Syriac, the primary idea is, that of a soldier, and thence it may refer to such acts of violence as a soldier commonly commits. The word occurs in Hebrew in the following places, and is translated in the following manner. It is rendered “cruel” in Deu 32:33; Job 30:21; Pro 5:9; Pro 11:17; Pro 12:10; Pro 17:11; Pro 27:4; Isa 13:9; Jer 6:23; Jer 50:42; Jer 30:14; and fierce in Job 41:10. Jerome renders it, mutatus mihi in crudelem - “thou art changed so as to become cruel to me;” the Septuagint renders it, ἀνελεημόως aneleēmonōs - unmerciful; Luther, Du bist mir verwandelt in einem Grausamen - “thou art changed to me into a cruel one;” and so Umbreit, Noyes, and translators generally. Perhaps the word fierce, severe or harsh, would express the idea; still it must be admitted that Job, in the severity of his sufferings, is often betrayed into language which cannot be a model for us, and which we cannot vindicate.
With thy strong hand - Margin, the strength. So the Hebrew. The hand is the instrument by which we accomplish anything; and hence, anything which God does is traced to his hand.
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Thou opposest thyselph against me - - תשׂטמני tiśâṭamēniy. The word שׂטם śâṭam, means to lie in wait for anyone; to lay snares; to set a trap; see Job 16:9, where the same word occurs, and where it is rendered “who hateth me,” but where it would be better rendered he pursues, or persecutes me. The meaning is, that God had become his adversary, or had set himself against him. There was a severity in his dealings with him as if he had become a foe.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. Harsh and unjustifiable charges against God, which Elihu…
21. Harsh and unjustifiable charges against God, which Elihu justly reproves, Job_33:10.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Thou art become cruel to me; literally, thou art…
Thou art become cruel to me; literally, thou art turned to be cruel to me. In other words, "Thou art changed to me, and art become cruel to me." Job never forgets that for long years God was gracious and kind to him, "made him and fashioned him together round about," "clothed him with skin and flesh, and fenced him with bones and sinews," "granted him life and favour, and by his visitation preserved his spirit"; (Job_10:9-12) but the recollection brings, perhaps, as much of pain. as of pleasure with it. One of our poets says"Joy"s recollection is no longer joy; But sorrow"s memory is a sorrow still. At any rate, the contrast between past joy and present suffering adds a pang to tile latter. With thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me; literally, with the might of thy hand dost thou persecute me (see the Revised Version). Haec noster irreverentius" (Schultens); comp. Job_19:6-13.
Charging God with cruelty.
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At the first onset of his afflictions it could be said of the patriarch, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly". (Job_1:22) But the aggravation of his troubles, followed by the vexatious advice of his friends, has since then more than once forced unwise words from his lips, and now he is directly charging God with becoming cruel to him.
I GOD"S ACTION MAY APPEAR CRUEL TO MAN. God permits or inflicts pain. When man cries for relief, relief does not come at least in the way expected. It is not easy to see why the suffering is sent. To us it seems unnecessary. We think we could have done our duty better without it. There appears to be an iron fate bearing down upon us regardless of our needs, or deserts, or helplessness. This is brought home to us with peculiar poignancy, under the most trying circumstances.
1. An accumulation of troubles. One man has more than his share of them. Blow follows blow. The fallen is crushed. Tender wounds are chafed. This was Job"s experience.
2. The suffering of the innocent. Bad men are seen to be flourishing while good men are in distress. This looks like indifference to moral claims.
3. The overthrow of the useful. Job had been a most helpful man in his time; his downfall meant the cessation of his kind services for many people in trouble. We see valuable lives cut off or made useless, while mischievous people thrive and grow fat.
4. The refusal to deliver. Job had not been proud, unbelieving, self-contained. He had prayed. But God appeared not to hear or regard him (ver. 20).
II GOD IS NEVER CRUEL TO MAN. Job was now charging God foolishly. We have to judge of a man"s character by his deeds till we know him. Then, if we become fully assured that he is good, we reverse the process, and estimate any dubious-looking conduct by the clear character of the man In the same way, after we have come to know that God is a true Father, that his nature is love, our wisest course is not to fling off our faith, and charge God with cruelty when he deals with us in what looks to us like a harsh manner. He cannot be false to his nature. But our eyes are dim; our sight is short; our self-centred experience perverts our judgment. We have to learn to trust the constant character of God when we cannot understand his present conduct.
III NARROW RELIGIOUS VIEWS LEAD TO UNJUST CHARGES AGAINST GOD. Job"s three friends were to a large extent responsible for the patriarch"s condition of mind, in which he was driven to charge God with cruelty. They had set up an impossible rule, and the evident falsehood of it had driven Job to desperation. A harsh orthodoxy is responsible for very much unbelief. Self-elected advocates of God have thus a good deal of mischief to answer for. In attempting to defend the Divine government some of these people have presented it in a very ugly light. Whilst they have been dinning their formal precepts into men"s ears on what they regard as the authority of revelation, they have been rousing a spirit of revolt, till what is most Divine in man, his conscience, has risen up and protested against their dogmas. From the days of Job till our own time theology has too often darkened the world"s idea of God. If we turn from man to God himself, we shall discover that he is better than his advocates represent him to be. When it is our duty to speak of religion, let us be careful not to fall into the error of Job"s friends, and generate hard thoughts of God by narrow, un-Christ-like teachings. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Thou art become cruel to me.
Job_30:21
Thou art become cruel to me.
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Jobs grievance against God
He says that God, who formerly had been kind to him, was now become cruel in His actings and dispensations toward him; and whereas He was wont to support him, He did now employ His power, as an enemy, in opposition to him. Job, in expressing his sorrow and resentments, is too pathetic, and expresseth much passion and weakness, for which he is reproved by Elihu. Considering this complaint in itself, it teacheth--
1. It is the way of Gods people to take up God as their chief party in all their troubles.
2. God may seem, for a time, not only not to hear godly supplicants, but even to be a severe foe to them. Thou art become cruel.
3. It is a character of a godly man, that he is sadly afflicted with any sign of Gods indignation, or even with the want of an evidence of Gods favour and affection in trouble. Wicked men look rather to their lot in itself, without minding Gods favour, or anger, in it.
4. Whether the wicked think of Gods favour, who never knew it, yet the want of it will be sad to the godly, who have tasted by experience how sweet it is.
5. As Gods power, when He lets it forth in effects, is irresistible and unsupportable for any creature to endure it, however fools do harden themselves, so godly men will soon groan under the apprehension thereof. It is indeed a characteristic of godly men that they are sensible of their own weakness, and therefore are soon made to stoop under the mighty hand of God. Learn--
(1)
All men by nature are apt to have hard thoughts of God in trouble.
(2) Temptation may overdrive, even such as are truly godly, to speak that which is unbecoming, yea, worse than they think.
(3) When godly men are ready to complain of God without cause, or to give credit to sense, they will readily find their complaints grow upon their hand. (George Hutcheson.)
Misunderstanding God
The only safe, sure way of avoiding this terrible peril is to study reverently and carefully what He has told us about Himself. It is a common temptation to accept the statements of others when they have the semblance of authority, and are asserted stoutly, as if they must be true. We may, and we ought, each of us, to become personally acquainted with our Heavenly Father. But our only hope of learning to know Him lies in patiently, lovingly, studying His character as revealed to us in Jesus Christ. His providences, too, often are such that we misunderstand them. Few of us are allowed to walk only in the light of conscious, joyous peace. Most of us sometimes are at a loss how to interpret the Divine dealings with us. There are occasions in some lives when God Himself seems to render it almost impossible to obey Him. Undoubtedly the object of such trying experiences is to develop a mightier faith. There must be always one possible next step forward in the path of duty; or, if there be actually none, this must be because the time to take it has not come, and patient, prayerful waiting is the present duty. We may misunderstand the meaning of what is ordained for us, but we need not misunderstand its purpose. Those who have a faith strong enough to feel that behind the tangled scheme of human affairs God sits calmly directing all things, are wisest and happiest. His providences are meant to teach this, at the least. When the last analysis has been worked out it becomes apparent that the great central, fundamental evil which we most need to guard against, is this of misunderstanding our Heavenly Father. If we can learn to see things from His point of view, to look upon life, duty, pleasure, eternity, as He looks upon them, we shall be assured of safety and peace. Otherwise we never can be. (Christian Age.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.