Job 16:20

20 My friends scoff at me as I weep before God.

Job 16:20 Meaning and Commentary

Job 16:20

My friends scorn me
Not that they scoffed at his afflictions and calamities, and at his diseases and disorders, that would have been very brutish and inhuman, but at his words, the arguments and reasons he made use of to defend himself with, see ( Job 12:4 ) ;

[but] mine eye poureth out [tears] unto God;
in great plenty, because of his very great sorrows and distresses, both inward and outward; and it was his mercy, that when his friends slighted and neglected him, yea, bore hard upon him, and mocked at him, that he had a God to go to, and pour out not only his tears, but all his complaints, and even his very soul unto him, from whom he might hope for relief; and what he said, when he did this, is as follows.

Job 16:20 In-Context

18 Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place.
19 Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is in the heights!
20 My friends scoff at me as I weep before God.
21 I wish that someone might arbitrate between a man and God just as a man [pleads] for his friend.
22 For [only] a few years will pass before I go the way of no return.
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.