Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
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?
- BSB Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?
- 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 35:13–14But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
- Jer 13:17But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because Yahweh’s flock is taken captive.
- Prov 14:21He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who has pity on the poor.
- Prov 19:17He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- Prov 28:8He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.
- Prov 14:31He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.
- Isa 58:7–8Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
- Job 24:4They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
- Job 31:16–21“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- Dan 4:27Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your tranquility.
- Luke 19:41When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
- 2 Cor 9:9As it is written, “He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor. His righteousness remains forever.”
- Prov 17:5Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
- Ps 12:1For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
- John 11:35Jesus wept.
- Jer 18:20Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away 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.