JobChapitre 19

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Then Job answered:

How long will you torment me and crush me with words?

Ten times now you have insulted me; you are not ashamed to abuse me.

And even if I have gone astray, my error is my own concern.

If indeed you would exalt yourselves over me and use my disgrace against me,

then know this: it is God who has wronged me and closed his net around me.

I cry out, "Violence!" but there is no answer; I call for help, but there is no justice.

He has walled up my way so I cannot pass, and he has draped my paths in darkness.

He has stripped me of my honor and taken the crown from my head.

He tears me down on every side until I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree.

His anger burns against me; he counts me among his enemies.

His troops advance together; they build a siege ramp against me and camp around my tent.

He has driven my brothers far from me; my acquaintances have become total strangers.

My relatives have failed me; my close friends have forgotten me.

Those who live in my house and my serving women count me a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes.

I call my servant, and he does not answer; I have to plead with him myself.

My breath is repulsive to my wife; I am loathsome to my own children.

Even young boys despise me; when I stand up, they speak against me.

All my closest friends detest me; those I loved have turned against me.

My bones cling to my skin and my flesh; I have escaped with nothing but the skin of my teeth.

Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.

Why do you hound me as God does? Will you never have your fill of my flesh?

Oh, that my words were written down! Oh, that they were inscribed in a scroll,

cut with an iron stylus and filled with lead, carved in rock forever!

But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end he will stand upon the dust.

And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.

I myself will see him; my own eyes will behold him, and not another. My heart faints with longing within me.

If you say, "How we will hound him!" and, "The root of the trouble lies in him,"

then fear the sword yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment of the sword; then you will know that there is judgment.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 19

Main Theme: Job defends himself against his friends' accusations and expresses his hope in a Redeemer despite deep suffering and isolation.

Content: Job accuses his friends of humiliating him and crushing him with words (vv. 2-3). He describes how God has surrounded him like an enemy and taken everything from him—honor, hope, and relationships (vv. 6-19). In the midst of despair, Job expresses his famous confession of faith: "I know that my Redeemer lives" and that he will see God (vv. 25-27). He concludes with a warning to his friends about God's judgment (vv. 28-29).

Key Words/Images:

Redeemer (גֹּאֵל): Job confesses faith in a living Redeemer who will arise and defend his cause.
God's siege (v. 12): God is portrayed as a warring enemy who surrounds Job with His troops.
Skin and bones (v. 20): A picture of Job's extreme physical suffering—he has barely escaped death.
Written in stone (vv. 23-24): Job wishes that his words might be carved into the rock forever as a testimony.

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for Job 19

Key Concepts

Goel – the Redeemer (verse 25)

The Hebrew word גֹּאֵל (go'el) in verse 25 is a central legal concept in Israelite culture. A goel was a close relative obligated to redeem another from debt, slavery, or loss of property (Lev 25:25-49), and in cases of murder, the goel had the right to avenge the dead (Num 35:19). The term is also used for God as Israel's redeemer from Egypt (Exod 6:6; Isa 41:14). That Job declares "my goel lives" amid his deepest despair is a remarkable confession of faith.

Permanent Inscription (verses 23-24)

Job's wish that his words be written with "an iron stylus and lead" and carved into rock reflects contemporary practices for permanent documentation. In the ancient Near East, important texts were inscribed on rocks or stone tablets to ensure lasting preservation. Examples such as the Behistun Inscription in Persia and Egyptian monuments illustrate this tradition. Lead could be used to fill the carved letters, making them more readable and durable.

Events and Customs

Social Isolation and Honor/Shame (verses 13-19)

Job's detailed description of how he has been abandoned by brothers, acquaintances, relatives, guests, servant girls, his own servant, wife, and even small children reflects the total social death that could befall a man in patriarchal culture. In honor-shame societies, one's social network was crucial for identity and survival. That even servants now treat their master as a stranger represents a complete overturning of the social order.

"Children of my womb" (verse 17)

The expression לִבְנֵי בִטְנִי (livnei vitni – "children of my womb") in verse 17 is debated. Grammatically, the phrase refers to Job's own children, although according to chapter 1 these are already dead. Some interpret it as a poetic reference to his siblings (as children from the same mother's womb). Regardless of interpretation, the expression underscores that even the closest blood ties have been broken.

Personnages1

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Mots-clés7

Misery — A state of great distress, suffering, or misfortune that Job experiences due to his trials.
Lord — Another name for God, referring to the Creator and supreme divine authority.
Redeemer — A person or power who saves, delivers, or rescues someone from a difficult situation. For Job, this is a reference to God as his hope for justice and salvation.
Living — In this context, it means that God is active, present, and engaged in human life and destiny.
Skin — Here used as a metaphor for Job's physical body, which has been destroyed by disease and suffering.
Eyes — Used here to describe the ability to see and recognize truth, both literally and symbolically.
Dust — A symbol of mortality and transience, representing humanity's fragile nature and ultimate existence.