Job 7:20

"How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone until I swallow down my spittle?"

Key Reflection

In this verse, Job expresses his intense longing for relief and comfort from God's relentless scrutiny. By asking how long it will take before God turns away His gaze and allows him to find peace, Job highlights the torment of constant suffering without respite or understanding.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

I have sinned -חטאתיchâṭâ'tı̂y. This is a literal translation, and as it stands in the common version it is the language of a penitent - confessing that he had erred, and making humble acknowledgment of his sins. That such a confession became Job, and that he would be willing to admit that he was a sinner, there can be no doubt; but the connection seems rather to require a different sense - a sense implying that though he had sinned, yet his offences could not be such as to require the notice which God had taken of them. Accordingly this interpretation has been adopted by many, and the Hebrew will bear the construction.

Related Verses

More from Job 7

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