Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
Parallel translations
- WEB Didn’t I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn’t my soul grieved for the needy?
- KJV Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
- NKJV Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
- NASB “Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was my soul not grieved for the needy?
- NLT Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?
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 recalls that he himself wept for the troubled and grieved for the needy. He contrasts his past mercy with the lack of mercy now shown to him.
Overview
Job defends his character by recalling his genuine compassion for those in trouble and his sorrow over the poor. This shows that his earlier righteousness was not mere outward show but heartfelt mercy. Such compassion reflects the heart of God himself, fully embodied in Christ, who wept with the grieving and showed mercy to the needy, and who calls his people to the same mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Rom 12:15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
- Ps 35:13–14Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
- Jer 13:17But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
- Prov 14:21He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.
- Prov 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
- Prov 28:8He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.
- Prov 14:31Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Isa 58:7–8Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
- Job 24:4They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
- Job 31:16–21If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,
- Dan 4:27Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”
- Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
- 2 Cor 9:9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
- Prov 17:5He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
- Ps 12:1For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
- John 11:35Jesus wept.
- Jer 18:20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 30:25 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.