Why Should Job Be Patient? (Job 6-19)

Sometimes things slowly progress, and other times, by seeming leaps.

Early this afternoon I felt inclined to add to my series here, expressing something about Chapter 10. Then, I went outside to work, deciding to switch from what I was currently listening to back to the book of Job. This time, I didn’t pull up my Stephen Michael translation of this biblical narrative (I think I’ve listened dozens and dozens of times since I purchased it in Audible back around 2019 or so) but rather I switched up the translation to my Audible “Holy Bible – The Old Testament” (NRSV narrated by John Banks).

As I listened to my phone propped and went about tasks, periodically I would pause and send an email to myself with a verse/part that somehow caught my attention.

When I got to the chapter that contains a statement Job made that is well-known in song format (I Know That My Redeemer Lives), I felt I needed to pause at that section. I turned off the audiobook, finished my tasks, and now have decided to crank another section here.

The book of Job is quite hard to digest. And for this section, I will leap through a block of chapters and just allow each selection to speak for itself to whomever reads my musings here, in this series (rather than providing any commentary).

I was intending that I might pick up with something from Chapter 11, but in reviewing my notations to myself (since I listened from the beginning) I am back-tracking to something from Chapter 6. I think the best way to format this segment it to list below the parts that stood out to me.

Certainly anyone who wants to listen to/read the full chapters can locate their own resources! Truly, the entire context of these excerpts matters in gaining the enrichment available to us in the book of Job. But, for me to include that seems moot and would only lengthen this piece.

As I bring up each verse online, I browse the various translations for what I wish to select.

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“What strength have I that I should endure, and what is my limit that I should be patient?” –Job 6:11, New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

“Why dost thou write bitter things against me and make me carry the iniquities of my youth.” –Job 13:26 Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)

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The next verse I put forth in three different translations, just the part that caught my attention. When I heard this part, it seemed to be like the Psalmist who asks, “How long, O God?” I had the distinct image in my mind/heart that if Job (or myself) only knew “how long” the difficulties would last–as though there was a set time–that it might help one to endure.

“If only you would set me a time and then remember me!” New International Version (NIV)
“I wish you would set a time and then remember me!” New Century Version (NCV)
“Set a specific time for me when you will remember me.” Names of God Bible (NOG)

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And now, I move on to Job 16:7. Such interesting translations!

“Surely he has now exhausted me. You have devastated my entire family.” Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

“God has worn me down and destroyed my family;” Contemporary English Version (CEV)

“But what shall I do? If I speak, my pain will not rest: and if I hold my peace, it will not depart from me.” Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)

“God, you surely took away my strength. You destroyed my whole family.” Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

“For God has ground me down and taken away my family.” Living Bible (TLB)

“When I speak up, I feel no better; if I say nothing, that doesn’t help either. I feel worn down. God, you have wasted me totally—me and my family! You’ve shriveled me like a dried prune, showing the world that you’re against me. My gaunt face stares back at me from the mirror, a mute witness to your treatment of me. Your anger tears at me, your teeth rip me to shreds, your eyes burn holes in me—God, my enemy! People take one look at me and gasp. Contemptuous, they slap me around and gang up against me. And God just stands there and lets them do it, lets wicked people do what they want with me. I was contentedly minding my business when God beat me up. He grabbed me by the neck and threw me around. He set me up as his target, then rounded up archers to shoot at me. Merciless, they shot me full of arrows; bitter bile poured from my gut to the ground. He burst in on me, onslaught after onslaught, charging me like a mad bull.” The Message (MSG)

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“My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; ” Job 17:1 English Standard Version (ESV)

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The next segment is an incredibly rich passage–one that those who have suffered in various ways should fully comprehend. As I browse the various translations, there are such nuances of thought:

“My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated and torn apart; The wishes of my heart [are broken].” Job 17:11 Amplified Bible (AMP)

“My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated; even the thoughts (desires and possessions) of my heart [are broken off].” Job 17:11 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

“My days have passed. All the things I planned to do are ripped apart, including the deepest desires of my heart.” Job 17:11 Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

“My days are passing by. My plans are broken. My dreams ⌞are shattered⌟.” Job 17:11 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

“My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart.” Job 17:11 Modern English Version (MEV)

“My good days are in the past. My hopes have disappeared. My heart’s desires are broken.” Job 17:11 Living Bible (TLB)

“Maybe you’d all like to start over, to try it again, the bunch of you. So far I haven’t come across one scrap of wisdom in anything you’ve said. My life’s about over. All my plans are shattered, all my hopes are snuffed out— My hope that night would turn into day, my hope that dawn was about to break. If all I have to look forward to is a home in the graveyard, if my only hope for comfort is a well-built coffin, If a family reunion means going six feet under, and the only family that shows up is worms, Do you call that hope? Who on earth could find any hope in that? No. If hope and I are to be buried together, I suppose you’ll all come to the double funeral!” Job 17:11 The Message (MSG)

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“How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak.” Job 18:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

“When will you stop talking? Be sensible; let us say something.” Job 18:2 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

“How long before your words will end? Think it through, and then we’ll talk.” Job 18:2 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

“Job, can’t people like you ever be quiet? If you stopped to listen, we could talk to you.” Job 18:2 Good News Translation (GNT)

“When are you going to stop your word hunt? Think first, and then we can talk.” Job 18:2 International Standard Version (ISV)

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“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.” Job 19:7 BRG Bible (BRG)

“I cry out, “Violence!” but get no response; I call for help, but there is no justice.” Job 19:7 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

“Though I pray to be rescued from this torment, no whisper of justice answers me.” Job 19:7 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

“Indeed, I cry, ‘Help! I’m being attacked!’ but I get no response. I call for help, but there is no justice.” Job 19:7 Names of God Bible (NOG)

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