TRV
Translation
King James Version
Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
Complete Jewish Bible
If I cry, 'Violence!' no one hears me; I cry aloud, but there is no justice.
Berean Standard Bible
Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.
American Standard Version
Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry for help, but there is no justice.
World English Bible Messianic
“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. I cry for help, but there is no justice.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Beholde, I crie out of violence, but I haue none answere: I crie, but there is no iudgement.
Young's Literal Translation
Lo, I cry out--violence, and am not answered, I cry aloud, and there is no judgment.
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In the KJVVerse 13,305 of 31,102
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Commentary on Job 19 verses 1–7
1 ¶ Then Job answered and said,
2 How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me.
4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
5 If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach:
6 Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.
7 Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
Job's friends had passed a very severe censure upon him as a wicked man because he was so grievously afflicted; now here he tells them how ill he took it to be so censured. Bildad had twice begun with a How long (Job 8:2, Job 18:2), and therefore Job, being now to answer him particularly, begins with a How long too, Job 19:2. What is not liked is commonly thought long; but Job had more reason to think those long who assaulted him than they had to think him long who only vindicated himself. Better cause may be shown for defending ourselves, if we have right on our side, than for offending our brethren, though we have right on our side. Now observe here,
I. How he describes their unkindness to him and what account he gives of it. 1. They vexed his soul, and that is more grievous than the vexation of the bones, Psa 6:2, Psa 6:3. They were his friends; they came to comfort him, pretended to counsel him for the best; but with a great deal of gravity, and affectation of wisdom and piety, they set themselves to rob him of the only comfort he had now left him in a good God, a good conscience, and a good name; and this vexed him to his heart. 2. They broke him in pieces with words, and those were surely hard and very cruel words that would break a man to pieces: they grieved him, and so broke him; and therefore there will be a reckoning hereafter for all the hard speeches spoken against Christ and his people, Jde 1:15. 3. They reproached him, (Job 19:3), gave him a bad character and laid to his charge things that he knew not. To an ingenuous mind reproach is a cutting thing. 4. They made themselves strange to him, were shy of him now that he was in his troubles, and seemed as if they did not know him (Job 2:12), were not free with him as they used to be when he was in his prosperity. Those are governed by the spirit of the world, and not by any principles of true honour or love, who make themselves strange to their friends, or God's friends, when they are in trouble. A friend loves at all times. 5. They not only estranged themselves from him, but magnified themselves against him (Job 19:5), not only looked shy of him, but looked big upon him, and insulted over him, magnifying themselves to depress him. It is a mean thing, it is a base thing, thus to trample upon those that are down. 6. They pleaded against him his reproach, that is, they made use of his affliction as an argument against him to prove him a wicked man. They should have pleaded for him his integrity, and helped him to take the comfort of that under his affliction, and so have pleaded that against his reproach (as St. Paul, Co2 1:12); but, instead of that, they pleaded his reproach against his integrity, which was not only unkind, but very unjust; for where shall we find an honest man if reproach may be admitted for a plea against him?
II. How he aggravates their unkindness. 1. They had thus abused him often (Job 19:3): These ten times you have reproached me, that is, very often, as Gen 31:7; Num 14:22. Five times they had spoken, and every speech was a double reproach. He spoke as if he had kept a particular account of their reproaches, and could tell just how many they were. It is but a peevish and unfriendly thing to do so, and looks like a design of retaliation and revenge. We better befriend our own peace by forgetting injuries and unkindnesses than by remembering them and scoring them up. 2. They continued still to abuse him, and seemed resolved to persist in it: "How long will you do it?" Job 19:2, Job 19:5. "I see you will magnify yourselves against me, notwithstanding all I have said in my own justification." Those that speak too much seldom think they have said enough; and, when the mouth is opened in passion, the ear is shut to reason. 3. They were not ashamed of what they did, Job 19:3. They had reason to be ashamed of their hard-heartedness, so ill becoming men, of their uncharitableness, so ill becoming good men, and of their deceitfulness, so ill becoming friends: but were they ashamed? No, though they were told of it again and again, yet they could not blush.
III. How he answers their harsh censures, by showing them that what they condemned was capable of excuse, which they ought to have considered. 1. The errors of his judgment were excusable (Job 19:4): "Be it indeed that I have erred, that I am in the wrong through ignorance or mistake," which may well be supposed concerning men, concerning good men. Humanum est errare - Error cleaves to humanity; and we must be willing to suppose it concerning ourselves. It is folly to think ourselves infallible. "But be it so," said Job, "my error remaineth with myself," that is, "I speak according to the best of my judgment, with all sincerity, and not from a spirit of contradiction." Or, "If I be in an error, I keep it to myself, and do not impose it upon others as you do. I only prove myself and my own work by it. I meddle not with other people, either to teach them or to judge them." Men's errors are the more excusable if they keep them to themselves, and do not disturb others with them. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself. Some give this sense of these words: "If I be in an error, it is I that must smart for it; and therefore you need not concern yourselves: nay, it is I that do smart, and smart severely, for it; and therefore you need not add to my misery by your reproaches." 2. The breakings out of his passion, though not justifiable, yet were excusable, considering the vastness of his grief and the extremity of his misery. "If you will go on to cavil at every complaining word I speak, will make the worst of it and improve it against me, yet take the cause of the complaint along with you, and weigh that, before you pass a judgment upon the complaint, and turn it to my reproach: Know then that God has overthrown me," Job 19:6. Three things he would have them consider: - (1.) That his trouble was very great. He was overthrown, and could not help himself, enclosed as in a net, and could not get out. (2.) That God was the author of it, and that, in it, he fought against him: "It was his hand that overthrew me; it is in his net that I am enclosed; and therefore you need not appear against me thus. I have enough to do to grapple with God's displeasure; let me not have yours also. Let God's controversy with me be ended before you begin yours." It is barbarous to persecute him whom God hath smitten and to talk to the grief of one whom he hath wounded, Psa 69:26. (3.) That he could not obtain any hope of the redress of his grievances, Job 19:7. He complained of his pain, but got no ease - begged to know the cause of his affliction, but could not discover it - appealed to God's tribunal for the clearing of his innocency, but could not obtain a hearing, much less a judgment, upon his appeal: I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. God, for a time, may seem to turn away his ear from his people, to be angry at their prayers and overlook their appeals to him, and they must be excused if, in that case, they complain bitterly. Woe unto us if God be against us!
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–7. Public domain.
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Origen of AlexandriaAD 253
FRAGMENTS ON JOB 13.15, 29
"I will cry out, and there is nowhere judgment; I still contend." This is as if Job had said, "I cried out like an athlete in the stadium, but my judgment is nowhere there. Indeed, I still fight. But if I do not bring my fight to a close, I will not get my crown." We actually say these things lest we accuse God of the fact that Job suffered such misfortunes and there was judgment for him nowhere.
John ChrysostomAD 407
COMMENTARY ON JOB 19:3B-6A
Job says this as a concession. He always acts in this manner, by multiplying his concessions. He does not allow the discussion to languish on the same point but begins his fight again. Let us admit, he says, that you reprove my words for being foolish, vain and inopportune. You, nonetheless, had no reason to insult me, even if things were so, but it was necessary to respect my distress, to fear him who had struck me, to forgive because of the greatness of my misfortunes.“But alas! Since you magnify yourselves against me and insult me with reproach,” he says, “know then that it is the Lord that has troubled me.” What do these words mean? That it is necessary to have respect and fear? In my opinion, Job wants to suggest in this passage that if he was suffering so much, it was not because of his faults—in fact, if God strikes one, does one always suffer because of his faults? Not Job, and not many others—but in order to be tested and to achieve more victories.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
40. Almighty God, knowing what has in it efficacy to prove our good, shuts His ears to hear the voice of persons mourning, that He may add to their advantage, that their life may be purified by punishment, that the tranquillity of rest which can no where be found here, may be sought for elsewhere. But there are some of the faithful even that know nothing of this grace of Providential ordering, in whose person too it is now said; Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard; I cry aloud, but there is no one to judge; for it is said, ‘there is no one to judge,’ when He veils His eyes to judge, in that beside Him ‘there is not any to judge’ our cause against our adversary. Nor yet is this very thing void of judgment, viz. that judgment is delayed; seeing that at the very time that blessed Job said this, both the merits of the holy man and the punishment of his adversary were increased: so then this very deferring of judgment is the act of a judge. But what God settles justly within is one thing, and what the soul bruised by scourges without seeks after is another.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Job 19:7 encapsulates the profound anguish of a righteous man who, amidst inexplicable suffering and relentless accusations, feels utterly abandoned and unheard by God. It is a poignant expression of Job's desperate cry for vindication and justice, lamenting the perceived divine silence and inaction in the face of what he experiences as violent injustice. This verse highlights the deep human struggle with the problem of suffering and the perplexing silence of the divine during trials, as Job yearns for a fair hearing that seems perpetually denied, yet paradoxically sets the stage for his profound declaration of faith.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Job 19:7 is a powerful example of lament, a common genre in biblical literature where an individual expresses deep sorrow, pain, and protest to God, often accompanied by a plea for intervention. The verse employs synonymous parallelism, a fundamental feature of Hebrew poetry, where the second half of the verse ("I cry aloud, but there is no judgment") reiterates and intensifies the meaning of the first half ("I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard"). Both clauses convey Job's desperate cry and the frustrating lack of divine response or vindication, reinforcing the depth of his despair and the perceived injustice. While Job's suffering is undeniably real, his assertion of being "not heard" and receiving "no judgment" can also be understood as hyperbole, reflecting the extremity of his emotional state and perceived abandonment rather than an absolute theological statement about God's inability to hear. This rhetorical exaggeration underscores the profound agony and sense of injustice Job experiences.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Job 19:7 powerfully articulates the human experience of feeling unheard and unvindicated in suffering, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture. It challenges simplistic theological frameworks that equate suffering directly with sin, pushing believers to grapple with the mystery of divine providence and the nature of God's justice. This verse underscores the biblical permission for raw, honest lament before God, even when it expresses profound confusion or perceived abandonment. It is a cry for a righteous God to act righteously on behalf of the afflicted, setting the stage for Job's later declaration of faith in a living Redeemer who will ultimately bring justice and vindication.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Job 19:7 offers profound comfort and challenge for the contemporary believer. In an age where quick fixes and easy answers are often sought, Job's raw lament reminds us that faith is not always about understanding divine purposes, but often about enduring the silence and wrestling with God in our pain. This verse grants permission to bring our most agonizing questions and deepest frustrations directly to God, without pretense or spiritualized platitudes. It encourages a robust, honest prayer life, acknowledging that true faith can coexist with profound doubt and despair. Furthermore, it calls us to cultivate empathy for those who suffer, resisting the urge to offer simplistic explanations or attribute their pain to hidden sin, but rather to sit with them in their unanswered cries, just as Job's friends failed to do. It reminds us that sometimes the most spiritual response is simply to lament, trusting that God hears even when His response is not immediately apparent.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God truly not hear our prayers, as Job claims here?
Answer: Job's statement "I am not heard" is an expression of his subjective experience and profound anguish, not a definitive theological declaration about God's inability or unwillingness to hear. From Job's limited perspective in the midst of his overwhelming suffering, it felt as though God was silent and unresponsive, leading to his desperate cry for "no judgment." The broader biblical narrative, including the conclusion of the Book of Job, consistently affirms that God hears the cries of His people, even if His response is not immediate, or in the manner or timing we expect. Psalm 66:19 states, "But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer." Similarly, 1 John 5:14 assures us, "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Job's lament is a model of honest prayer, demonstrating the depth of human emotion in suffering, rather than a theological treatise on divine deafness.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Job's desperate cry for vindication and his feeling of being unheard find their ultimate echo and profound fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. While Job suffered as a righteous man seeking a hearing and justice, Jesus, the perfectly righteous Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, truly experienced the ultimate cry of abandonment on the cross: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). In that moment, the Father did turn away from the Son who bore the world's sin, allowing Him to experience the very "no judgment" and "not heard" that Job lamented, but for a redemptive purpose. Christ's suffering was not for His own sin, but for ours, making Him the ultimate innocent sufferer. Through His death and resurrection, He secured the true "judgment" and "vindication" that Job longed for, not just for Himself (1 Timothy 3:16), but for all who believe. In Christ, our cries are heard, and our ultimate vindication is guaranteed, for He is our advocate with the Father, ensuring that we are always heard and ultimately judged righteous in Him. His suffering transforms our cries into hope, knowing that our ultimate justice is secured in His finished work on the cross, leading to the promise of no more tears or pain.