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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Job 16:20 My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/job/16-20.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/12/18_Job_16_20.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Job 16:20 - Job Decries his Comforters" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God." /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; 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my eye pours out tears to God,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/job/16.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/job/16.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />My friends scorn me: <i>but</i> mine eye poureth out <i>tears</i> unto God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/job/16.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />My friends scorn me; My eyes pour out <i>tears</i> to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/job/16.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />“My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/job/16.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/job/16.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/job/16.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/job/16.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />“My friends are scoffers [who ridicule]; My eye pours out tears to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/job/16.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />My friends scoff at me as I weep before God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/job/16.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />My friends scoff at me as I weep before God. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/job/16.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />My friends scoff at me: But mine eye poureth out tears unto God,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/job/16.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />My friends have rejected me, but God is the one I beg <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/job/16.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/job/16.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />the spokesman for my thoughts. My eyes drip [with tears] to God <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/job/16.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />My friends scorn me; my eyes pour out tears to God. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/job/16.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />My friends mock me, while my eyes overflow with tears to God,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/job/16.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/job/16.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/job/16.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/job/16.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />My friends scorn me: but my eye poureth out tears to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/job/16.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />My friends scoff at me. My eyes pour out tears to God, <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/job/16.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />My interpreter [is] my friend, "" My eye has dropped to God;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/job/16.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> My interpreter is my friend, Unto God hath mine eye dropped:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/job/16.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />My friends mocking me: to God mine eye wept.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/job/16.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />My friends are full of words: my eye poureth out tears to God. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/job/16.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br /><V 16:21>My friends are full of words; my eye rains tears upon God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/job/16.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />My friends it is who wrong me; before God my eyes shed tears, <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/job/16.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/job/16.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />O my brethren and my neighbors! my eyes pour out tears to God!<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/job/16.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />My brothers and my friends, my eyes overflow to God!<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/job/16.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Mine inward thoughts are my intercessors, Mine eye poureth out tears unto God;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/job/16.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Let my supplication come to the Lord, and let mine eye weep before him.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/job/16-20.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XAwuD5NuZq0?start=2588" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/job/16.htm">Job Decries his Comforters</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">19</span>Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high. <span class="reftext">20</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/7453.htm" title="7453: rê·‘āy (N-mpc:: 1cs) -- Friend, companion, fellow. Or reya2; from ra'ah; an associate.">My friends</a> <a href="/hebrew/3887.htm" title="3887: mə·lî·ṣay (V-Hifil-Prtcpl-mpc:: 1cs) -- A primitive root; properly, to make mouths at, i.e. To scoff; hence to interpret, or intercede.">are my scoffers</a> <a href="/hebrew/5869.htm" title="5869: ‘ê·nî (N-csc:: 1cs) -- An eye. Probably a primitive word; an eye; by analogy, a fountain.">as my eyes</a> <a href="/hebrew/1811.htm" title="1811: dā·lə·p̄āh (V-Qal-Perf-3fs) -- To drip, drop. A primitive root; to drip; by implication, to weep.">pour out tears</a> <a href="/hebrew/413.htm" title="413: ’el- (Prep) -- To, into, towards. ">to</a> <a href="/hebrew/433.htm" title="433: ’ĕ·lō·w·ha (N-ms) -- God, god. Probably prolonged From 'el; a deity or the Deity.">God.</a> </span><span class="reftext">21</span>Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/35-13.htm">Psalm 35:13-14</a></span><br />Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. / I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/69-10.htm">Psalm 69:10-12</a></span><br />I wept and fasted, but it brought me reproach. / I made sackcloth my clothing, and I was sport to them. / Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/109-4.htm">Psalm 109:4</a></span><br />In return for my love they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/isaiah/53-3.htm">Isaiah 53:3</a></span><br />He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/lamentations/3-14.htm">Lamentations 3:14</a></span><br />I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/22-6.htm">Psalm 22:6-8</a></span><br />But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. / All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads: / “He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/38-11.htm">Psalm 38:11</a></span><br />My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/88-8.htm">Psalm 88:8</a></span><br />You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/psalms/102-8.htm">Psalm 102:8</a></span><br />All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/5-11.htm">Matthew 5:11-12</a></span><br />Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. / Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/15-18.htm">John 15:18-20</a></span><br />If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. / If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. / Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/16-2.htm">John 16:2</a></span><br />They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/1-4.htm">2 Corinthians 1:4-5</a></span><br />who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. / For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_corinthians/12-10.htm">2 Corinthians 12:10</a></span><br />That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hebrews/11-36.htm">Hebrews 11:36-38</a></span><br />Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. / They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. / The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">My friends scorn me: but my eye pours out tears to God.</p><p class="hdg">scorn me.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/16-4.htm">Job 16:4</a></b></br> I also could speak as ye <i>do</i>: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/12-4.htm">Job 12:4,5</a></b></br> I am <i>as</i> one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright <i>man is</i> laughed to scorn… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/job/17-2.htm">Job 17:2</a></b></br> <i>Are there</i> not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?</p><p class="hdg">poureth</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/109-4.htm">Psalm 109:4</a></b></br> For my love they are my adversaries: but I <i>give myself unto</i> prayer.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/psalms/142-2.htm">Psalm 142:2</a></b></br> I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/hosea/12-4.htm">Hosea 12:4,5</a></b></br> Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him <i>in</i> Bethel, and there he spake with us; … </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/job/14-3.htm">Eye</a> <a href="/job/16-16.htm">Eyes</a> <a href="/job/12-4.htm">Friend</a> <a href="/job/12-4.htm">Friends</a> <a href="/isaiah/59-16.htm">Intercessor</a> <a href="/isaiah/43-27.htm">Intercessors</a> <a href="/2_chronicles/4-4.htm">Inward</a> <a href="/jude/1-18.htm">Mockers</a> <a href="/job/15-13.htm">Pour</a> <a href="/job/16-13.htm">Poureth</a> <a href="/job/16-13.htm">Pours</a> <a href="/job/11-3.htm">Scoff</a> <a href="/jude/1-18.htm">Scoffers</a> <a href="/job/16-10.htm">Scorn</a> <a href="/job/12-4.htm">Sport</a> <a href="/job/16-9.htm">Tears</a> <a href="/job/12-5.htm">Thoughts</a> <a href="/job/16-16.htm">Weeping</a> <a href="/2_kings/8-12.htm">Weeps</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/job/17-2.htm">Eye</a> <a href="/job/17-2.htm">Eyes</a> <a href="/job/16-21.htm">Friend</a> <a href="/job/17-5.htm">Friends</a> <a href="/job/33-23.htm">Intercessor</a> <a href="/isaiah/43-27.htm">Intercessors</a> <a href="/job/19-19.htm">Inward</a> <a href="/job/17-2.htm">Mockers</a> <a href="/job/36-27.htm">Pour</a> <a href="/job/30-16.htm">Poureth</a> <a href="/job/41-20.htm">Pours</a> <a href="/psalms/59-8.htm">Scoff</a> <a href="/psalms/1-1.htm">Scoffers</a> <a href="/job/19-18.htm">Scorn</a> <a href="/job/17-2.htm">Sport</a> <a href="/job/19-10.htm">Tears</a> <a href="/job/17-11.htm">Thoughts</a> <a href="/job/27-15.htm">Weeping</a> <a href="/psalms/119-28.htm">Weeps</a><div class="vheading2">Job 16</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/job/16-1.htm">Job reproves his friends for unmercifulness</a></span><br><span class="reftext">17. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/job/16-17.htm">He maintains his innocence</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/job/16.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/job/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/job/16.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>My friends are my scoffers</b><br>In the context of Job's suffering, his friends, who were initially there to comfort him, have become his accusers. This reflects the cultural expectation of the time that suffering was a direct result of personal sin, a belief that Job's friends held strongly. The Hebrew term for "scoffers" implies mockery and derision, highlighting the betrayal Job feels. This situation parallels <a href="/psalms/22-7.htm">Psalm 22:7</a>, where the psalmist speaks of being mocked by those around him, a passage often seen as a prophetic reference to Christ's suffering and mockery by others.<p><b>as my eyes pour out tears to God</b><br>Job's response to his friends' accusations is not to retaliate but to turn to God in his distress. The imagery of tears pouring out signifies deep emotional pain and a plea for divine intervention. This act of crying out to God is a recurring theme in the Psalms, such as in <a href="/psalms/56-8.htm">Psalm 56:8</a>, where tears are kept in God's bottle, symbolizing His awareness and care. Job's lament can be seen as a type of Christ, who also turned to God in prayer and tears during His own suffering, as seen in <a href="/hebrews/5-7.htm">Hebrews 5:7</a>. This phrase underscores the personal and relational aspect of Job's faith, despite his circumstances.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/j/job.htm">Job</a></b><br>A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, experiencing intense suffering and loss.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/j/job's_friends.htm">Job's Friends</a></b><br>Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who initially come to comfort Job but end up accusing him of wrongdoing, suggesting his suffering is due to his sins.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God</a></b><br>The Almighty, to whom Job directs his lament and tears, seeking understanding and justice amidst his suffering.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_land_of_uz.htm">The Land of Uz</a></b><br>The setting of the Book of Job, traditionally considered to be in the region of Edom or northern Arabia.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_heavenly_court.htm">The Heavenly Court</a></b><br>An unseen realm where God and Satan discuss Job's faithfulness, setting the stage for Job's trials.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/t/the_reality_of_suffering.htm">The Reality of Suffering</a></b><br>Job's experience reminds us that suffering is a part of the human condition, even for the righteous. It challenges the simplistic view that suffering is always a direct result of personal sin.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_role_of_friends.htm">The Role of Friends</a></b><br>Job's friends, though well-intentioned, become "scoffers." This teaches us the importance of offering true comfort and empathy rather than judgment when others are suffering.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/p/pouring_out_our_hearts_to_god.htm">Pouring Out Our Hearts to God</a></b><br>Job's tears directed to God illustrate the importance of bringing our deepest emotions and struggles to Him in prayer, trusting that He hears and understands.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/t/the_misunderstanding_of_suffering.htm">The Misunderstanding of Suffering</a></b><br>Job's friends misinterpret his suffering, reminding us to be cautious in assuming we understand God's purposes in others' lives.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/f/faith_amidst_trials.htm">Faith Amidst Trials</a></b><br>Despite his friends' accusations and his own confusion, Job continues to seek God, demonstrating a steadfast faith that we are called to emulate.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_job_16.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Job 16</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/how_do_job_15_14-16_and_genesis_1_31_align.htm">In Job 15:14-16, how do Eliphaz's claims about universal impurity align with Genesis 1:31, which pronounces creation 'very good'?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/job_32_16-22__later_insertion_clues.htm">Job 32:16-22 - Are there any textual or historical clues suggesting this chapter might be a later insertion, potentially creating inconsistencies within the book?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/why_does_job_16_11_suggest_god_delivers_innocents.htm">In Job 16:11, why would a just God 'deliver' the innocent to the ungodly, contradicting passages that promise divine protection?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_job_21_19-21_clash_with_individual_sin.htm">In Job 21:19-21, does the idea of children suffering for a parent's wrongdoing clash with other biblical teachings on individual responsibility?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/job/16.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(20) <span class= "bld">My friends scorn me.</span>--Or, as an apostrophe, "Ye my scorners who profess and ought to be my friends: mine eye poureth out tears unto God that He would maintain the right of man with God, and of the son of man with his neighbour;" or, "that one might plead for man with God as the son of man pleadeth for his neighbour"--this is what he has already longed for in <a href="/job/9-33.htm" title="Neither is there any judge between us, that might lay his hand on us both.">Job 9:33</a>.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/job/16.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 20.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">My friends scorn me</span>; literally, <span class="accented">my scorners are my companions</span>; <span class="accented">i.e.</span> I have to live with those who scorn me (comp. ch. 30:1-13). <span class="cmt_word">But mine eye poureth out tears unto God</span>. It is not to his "friends" or "companions," or "comforters," or any human aid, that Job turns in his distress. God alone is his Refuge. Forced by his woes to pass his time in weeping and mourning (see ver. 16), it is to God that his heart turns, to God that he "pours out his tears." Hardly as he thinks God to have used him, bitterly as he sometimes ventures to complain, yet the idea never crosses him of looking for help or sympathy to any other quarter, of having recourse to any other support or stay. "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (<a href="/job/13-15.htm">Job 13:15</a>), expresses the deepest feeling of his heart, the firmost principle of his nature. Nothing overrides it. Even "out of the depths" his soul cries to the Lord (see <a href="/psalms/130-1.htm">Psalm 130:1</a>). <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/job/16-20.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">My friends</span><br /><span class="heb">רֵעָ֑י</span> <span class="translit">(rê·‘āy)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7453.htm">Strong's 7453: </a> </span><span class="str2">Friend, companion, fellow</span><br /><br /><span class="word">are my scoffers</span><br /><span class="heb">מְלִיצַ֥י</span> <span class="translit">(mə·lî·ṣay)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Hifil - Participle - masculine plural construct | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3887.htm">Strong's 3887: </a> </span><span class="str2">Ambassador, have in derision, interpreter, make a mock, mocker</span><br /><br /><span class="word">as my eyes</span><br /><span class="heb">עֵינִֽי׃</span> <span class="translit">(‘ê·nî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - common singular construct | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5869.htm">Strong's 5869: </a> </span><span class="str2">An eye, a fountain</span><br /><br /><span class="word">pour out [tears]</span><br /><span class="heb">דָּלְפָ֥ה</span> <span class="translit">(dā·lə·p̄āh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1811.htm">Strong's 1811: </a> </span><span class="str2">To drip, to weep</span><br /><br /><span class="word">to</span><br /><span class="heb">אֶל־</span> <span class="translit">(’el-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_413.htm">Strong's 413: </a> </span><span class="str2">Near, with, among, to</span><br /><br /><span class="word">God.</span><br /><span class="heb">אֱ֝ל֗וֹהַ</span> <span class="translit">(’ĕ·lō·w·ha)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_433.htm">Strong's 433: </a> </span><span class="str2">God -- a deity, the Deity</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/job/16-20.htm">Job 16:20 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/job/16-20.htm">OT Poetry: Job 16:20 My friends scoff at me (Jb) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/job/16-19.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Job 16:19"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Job 16:19" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/job/16-21.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Job 16:21"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Job 16:21" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>