God’s Word Translation
Job 19:23
23“I wish now my words were written. I wish they were inscribed on a scroll.
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,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book!
Context of Job 19:23
21“Have pity on me, my friends! Have pity on me because God’s hand has struck me down. 22Why do you pursue me as God does? Why are you never satisfied with my flesh? “I wish now my words were written. I wish they were inscribed on a scroll. 24I wish they were forever engraved on a rock with an iron stylus and lead. 25But I know that my defender lives, and afterwards, he will rise on 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 31:35“If only I had someone who would listen to me! Look, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me. Let the prosecutor write ⌞his complaint⌟ on a scroll.
- Isaiah 8:1The Lord said to me, “Take a large writing tablet, and write on it with a pen: ‘Maher Shalal Hash Baz’ [The Looting Will Come Quickly; the Prey Will Be Easy].
- Isaiah 30:8Now, write this on a tablet for them, and inscribe it in a book so that it will be there in the future as a permanent witness.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries