They gape at me with their mouth, They strike me reproachfully on the cheek, They gather 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.
- BSB They open their mouths against me and strike my cheeks with contempt; they join 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 in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease.
- Ps 22:13They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.
- Isa 50:6I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
- Lam 3:30Let him give his cheek to him who strikes him; let him be filled full with reproach.
- Mic 5:1Now you shall gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
- Ps 22:16–17For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.
- Acts 23:2The high priest, Ananias, commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
- Ps 94:21They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
- 2 Cor 11:20For you bear with a man, if he brings you into bondage, if he devours you, if he takes you captive, if he exalts himself, if he strikes you on the face.
- 1 Kgs 22:24Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did Yahweh’s Spirit go from me to speak to you?”
- Acts 4:27“For truly, in this city against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
- Ps 35:21Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!”
- Matt 26:67Then they spit in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him,
- Luke 23:35–36The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
- 2 Chr 18:23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did Yahweh’s Spirit go from me to speak to you?”
- John 18:22When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.