They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join together against me.
Parallel translations
- WEB They have gaped on me with their mouth. They have struck me on the cheek reproachfully. They gather themselves together against me.
- KJV They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves together against me.
- NKJV They gape at me with their mouth, They strike me reproachfully on the cheek, They gather together against me.
- NASB “They have gaped at me with their mouths, They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt; They have massed themselves against me.
- NLT People jeer and laugh at me. They slap my cheek in contempt. A mob gathers against me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Job's enemies mock him, strike his cheek, and gang up against him. He suffers open contempt and assault.
Overview
Job describes the scorn of those around him, who gape, slap, and unite against him in reproach. The striking of the cheek signals deep humiliation. Strikingly, these very sufferings, mockery and being struck on the cheek, are echoed in the passion of Christ (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67), the truly innocent sufferer to whom Job's ordeal points.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ps 35:15But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
- Ps 22:13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
- Isa 50:6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
- Lam 3:30Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
- Mic 5:1Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.
- Ps 22:16–17For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
- Acts 23:2At this, the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
- Ps 94:21They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
- 2 Cor 11:20In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.
- 1 Kgs 22:24Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”
- Acts 4:27In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
- Ps 35:21They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
- Matt 26:67Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
- Luke 23:35–36The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
- 2 Chr 18:23Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”
- John 18:22When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 16:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.