Job 16:20

20 My intercessor is my friend[a] as my eyes pour out tears to God;

Job 16:20 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
20 My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.
English Standard Version (ESV)
20 My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,
New Living Translation (NLT)
20 My friends scorn me, but I pour out my tears to God.
The Message Bible (MSG)
20 My Champion, my Friend, while I'm weeping my eyes out before God.
American Standard Version (ASV)
20 My friends scoff at me: [But] mine eye poureth out tears unto God,
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
20 the spokesman for my thoughts. My eyes drip [with tears] to God
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
20 My friends scoff at me as I weep before God.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
20 My go-between is my friend as I pour out my tears to God.

Job 16:20 Meaning and Commentary

Job 16:20

My friends scorn me
Not that they scoffed at his afflictions and calamities, and at his diseases and disorders, that would have been very brutish and inhuman, but at his words, the arguments and reasons he made use of to defend himself with, see ( Job 12:4 ) ;

[but] mine eye poureth out [tears] unto God;
in great plenty, because of his very great sorrows and distresses, both inward and outward; and it was his mercy, that when his friends slighted and neglected him, yea, bore hard upon him, and mocked at him, that he had a God to go to, and pour out not only his tears, but all his complaints, and even his very soul unto him, from whom he might hope for relief; and what he said, when he did this, is as follows.

Job 16:20 In-Context

18 “Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest!
19 Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass before I take the path of no return.

Cross References 4

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or "My friends treat me with scorn"
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