Job 30:20

20 "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you just look at me.

Job 30:20 Meaning and Commentary

Job 30:20

I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me
Which added greatly to his affliction, that though he cried to the Lord for help and deliverance, yet he turned a deaf ear to him; and though he heard him, as undoubtedly he did, he did not answer him immediately; at least not in the way in which he desired and expected he would: crying is expressive of prayer, and supposes distress, and denotes vehemence of spirit:

I stand up;
in prayer, standing being a prayer gesture, as many observe from ( Jeremiah 15:1 ) ; (See Gill on Matthew 6:5); or he persisted in it, he continued praying, was incessant in it, and yet could obtain no answer; or this signifies silence, as some F6 interpret it; he cried, and then ceased, waiting for an answer; but whether he prayed, or whether he was silent, it was the same thing:

and thou regardest me [not];
the word "not" is not in this clause, but is repeated from the preceding, as it is by Ben Gersom and others; but some read it without it, and give the sense either thus, thou considerest me whether it is fit to receive my prayer or not, so Sephorno; or to renew my strokes, to add new afflictions to me, as Jarchi and Bar Tzemach; or thou lookest upon me as one pleased with the sight of me in such a miserable condition, so far from helping me; wherefore it follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Jarchi, Ben Gersom, and Bar Tzemach.

Job 30:20 In-Context

18 In his great power God grabs hold of my clothing and chokes me with the collar of my coat.
19 He throws me into the mud, and I become like dirt and ashes.
20 "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You have turned on me without mercy; with your powerful hand you attacked me.
22 You snatched me up and threw me into the wind and tossed me about in the storm.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.