English Standard Version
Job 19:23
23"Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
Job 19:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
- New International Version (NIV)“Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Oh, that my words could be recorded. Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
Context of Job 19:23
21Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me! 22Why do you, like God, pursue me? Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24Oh that with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock forever! 25For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
Read all of Job 19Job 19:23 word by word
מִֽי־יִתֵּ֣ן אֵ֭פוֹ וְיִכָּתְב֣וּן מִלָּ֑י מִֽי־יִתֵּ֖ן בַּסֵּ֣פֶר וְיֻחָֽקוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 19:23
- Job 31:35Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
- Isaiah 8:1Then the Lord said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, 'Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.'
- Isaiah 30:8And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.
Commentaries on Job 19:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23O that my words were now written! - Job introduces the important subject which follows in a manner unusually solemn; and he certainly considers the words which he was about to utter of great moment, and therefore wishes them to be recorded in every possible way. All the modes of writing then in use he appears to refer to. As to printing, that should be out of the question, as no such art was then discovered, nor for nearly two thousand years after. Our…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Oh that my words were now written! - Margin, as in Hebrew, “Who will give;” a common mode of expressing desire among the Hebrews. This expression of desire introduces one of the most important passages in the book of Job. It is the language of a man who felt that injustice was done by his friends, and that he was not likely to have justice done him by that generation. He was charged with hypocrisy; his motives were called in question; his solemn appeals…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-29Verses 23-29 The Spirit of God, at this time, seems to have powerfully wrought on the mind of Job. Here he witnessed a good confession; declared the soundness of his faith, and the assurance of his hope. Here is much of Christ and heaven; and he that said such things are these, declared plainly that he sought the better country, that is, the heavenly. Job was taught of God to believe in a living Redeemer; to look for the resurrection of the dead, and the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23Job wanted his words inscribed (carved) on a monument, not in a book. He wanted a record of his innocence that would last in response to Bildad's claim that he would become forgotten (18:17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Despairing of justice from his friends in his lifetime, he wishes his words could be preserved imperishably to posterity, attesting his hope of vindication at the resurrection. printed--not our modern printing, but engraven.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries