Introduction
Job 19:13–27a: Chapters 4–18 contain Job’s conversations with his three friends who try to explain why Job is suffering. They think he must have sinned to deserve such punishment and that he is responsible for his own torment, but Job maintains his innocence. In today’s reading, Job responds to his friends. He acknowledges what God has done to him but still expresses words of hope.
Today’s Key Verse: Job 19:25–26 GNT
[Job replied:] But I know there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defense. Even after my skin is eaten by disease, while still in this body I will see God.
Read
13 God has made my own family forsake me;
I am a stranger to those who knew me;
14 my relatives and friends are gone.
15 Those who were guests in my house have forgotten me;
my servant women treat me like a stranger and a foreigner.
16 When I call a servant, he doesn’t answer—
even when I beg him to help me.
17 My wife can’t stand the smell of my breath,
and my own brothers won’t come near me.
18 Children despise me and laugh when they see me.
19 My closest friends look at me with disgust;
those I loved most have turned against me.
20 My skin hangs loose on my bones;
I have barely escaped with my life.
21 You are my friends! Take pity on me!
The hand of God has struck me down.
22 Why must you persecute me the way God does?
Haven’t you tormented me enough?
23 How I wish that someone would remember my words
and record them in a book!
24 Or with a chisel carve my words in stone
and write them so that they would last forever.
25 But I know there is someone in heaven
who will come at last to my defense.
26 Even after my skin is eaten by disease,
while still in this body I will see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes,
and he will not be a stranger.
My courage failed because you said,
Reflect
In verses 13–21, Job recounts his sufferings. How does he describe what has happened to him? Reread verses 25–27a. What do Job’s words indicate about his faith?
Pray
Holy God, you are my comfort and strength. When faced with life’s challenges, may I always sense your presence, trusting in your guidance. Fill my heart with hope. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
Job 32:1–10: Elihu speaks to Job.
