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Wednesday, September 10th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Wycliffe Bible

Job 19:28

Whi therfor seien ye now, Pursue we hym, and fynde we the roote of a word ayens hym?

Bible Study Resources

Dictionaries:

- Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Greatness of God;   Hypocrisy;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Hound;   Job, the Book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - How;   Job, Book of;   Resurrection;   Wisdom;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
If you say, “How will we pursue him,since the root of the problem lies with him?”
Hebrew Names Version
If you say, 'How we will persecute him!' Because the root of the matter is found in me,
King James Version
But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
English Standard Version
If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!' and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'
New Century Version
"If you say, ‘We will continue to trouble Job, because the problem lies with him,'
New English Translation
If you say, ‘How we will pursue him, since the root of the trouble is found in him!'
Amplified Bible
"If you say, 'How shall we [continue to] persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?'
New American Standard Bible
"If you say, 'How shall we persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find?'
World English Bible
If you say, 'How we will persecute him!' Because the root of the matter is found in me,
Geneva Bible (1587)
But yee sayde, Why is hee persecuted? And there was a deepe matter in me.
Legacy Standard Bible
If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?'‘And the root of the matter is found in him?'
Berean Standard Bible
If you say, 'How shall we persecute him, since the root of the matter lies with him?'
Contemporary English Version
My friends, you think up ways to blame and torment me, saying I brought it on myself.
Complete Jewish Bible
"If you say, ‘How will we persecute him?' — the root of the matter is found in me.
Darby Translation
If ye say, How shall we persecute him? when the root of the matter is found in me,
Easy-to-Read Version
"Maybe you will say, ‘How can we push Job a little harder and make him realize that he is the source of his problems?'
George Lamsa Translation
For you will say, Why did we persecute him? For a good report will follow me and vindicate me.
Good News Translation
"How can we torment him?" You looked for some excuse to attack me.
Lexham English Bible
"If you say, ‘How will we persecute him?' And ‘The root of the trouble is found' in me,
Literal Translation
For you may say, Why do we persecute him? And the root of the matter is found in me.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
when yee saye: Why do not we persecute him? we haue founde an occasion agaynst him.
American Standard Version
If ye say, How we will persecute him! And that the root of the matter is found in me;
Bible in Basic English
If you say, How cruel we will be to him! because the root of sin is clearly in him:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
If ye say: 'How we will persecute him!' seeing that the root of the matter is found in me;
King James Version (1611)
But ye should say, Why persecute we him? seeing the root of the matter is found in me.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But ye saide, why is he persecuted? and there was a deepe matter in me.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But if ye shall also say, What shall we say before him, and so find the root of the matter in him?
English Revised Version
If ye say, How we will persecute him! seeing that the root of the matter is found in me;
Update Bible Version
If you say, How we will persecute him! And that the root of the matter is found in me;
Webster's Bible Translation
But ye would say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?
New King James Version
If you should say, "How shall we persecute him?'-- Since the root of the matter is found in me,
New Living Translation
"How dare you go on persecuting me, saying, ‘It's his own fault'?
New Life Bible
If you say, ‘How will we make it hard for him?' and, ‘The root of the problem is in him,'
New Revised Standard
If you say, ‘How we will persecute him!' and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him';
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Surely ye should say - Why should we persecute him? seeing, the root of the matter, is found in me.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Why then do you say now: Let us persecute him, and let us find occasion of word against him?
Revised Standard Version
If you say, 'How we will pursue him!' and, 'The root of the matter is found in him';
Young's Literal Translation
But ye say, `Why do we pursue after him?' And the root of the matter hath been found in me.
THE MESSAGE
"If you're thinking, ‘How can we get through to him, get him to see that his trouble is all his own fault?' Forget it. Start worrying about yourselves. Worry about your own sins and God's coming judgment, for judgment is most certainly on the way."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If you say, 'How shall we persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find?'

Contextual Overview

23 Who yyueth to me, that my wordis be writun? Who yyueth to me, 24 that tho be writun in a book with an yrun poyntil, ethir with a plate of leed; ethir with a chisel be grauun in a flynt? 25 For Y woot, that myn ayenbiere lyueth, and in the laste dai Y schal rise fro the erthe; 26 and eft Y schal be cumpassid with my skyn, and in my fleisch Y schal se God, my sauyour. 27 Whom Y my silf schal se, and myn iyen schulen biholde, and not an other man. This myn hope is kept in my bosum. 28 Whi therfor seien ye now, Pursue we hym, and fynde we the roote of a word ayens hym? 29 Therfor fle ye fro the face of the swerd; for the swerd is the vengere of wickidnessis, and wite ye, that doom schal be.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Why: Job 19:22, Psalms 69:26

seeing: etc. or, and what root of matter is found in me, the root. 1 Kings 14:13

in me: Instead of bee, "in me," bo, "in him," is the reading of more than 100 manuscripts.

Reciprocal: Job 6:13 - Is not my Matthew 13:21 - root Mark 4:17 - have Luke 8:13 - and these 1 John 3:9 - for

Cross-References

Genesis 19:10
the men puttiden hoond, and ledden in Loth to hem, and thei closiden the dore.
Genesis 19:11
And thei smyten with blyndenesse hem that weren withoutforth, fro the leest til to the moost; so that thei myyten not fynde the dore.
Psalms 107:34
He hath set fruytful lond in to saltnesse; for the malice of men dwellyng ther ynne.
2 Peter 2:7
and delyuerid the iust Loth, oppressid of the wrong, and of the letcherouse conuersacioun of cursid men;
Jude 1:7
As Sodom, and Gomorre, and the nyy coostid citees, that in lijk maner diden fornycacioun, and yeden awei aftir othir fleisch, and ben maad ensaumple, suffrynge peyne of euerelastinge fier.
Revelation 9:2
And it openede the pit of depnesse, and a smoke of the pit stiede vp, as the smoke of a greet furneis; and the sunne was derkid, and the eir, of the smoke of the pit.
Revelation 18:9
And the kingis of the erthe schulen biwepe, and biweile hem silf on hir, whiche diden fornicacioun with hir, and lyueden in delicis, whanne thei schulen se the smoke of the brennyng of it;
Revelation 18:18
and crieden, seynge the place of the brennyng of it, seiynge, What is lijk this greet citee?
Revelation 19:3
And eft thei seiden, Alleluya. And the smoke of it stieth vp, in to worldis of worldis.
Revelation 21:8
But to ferdful men, and vnbileueful, and cursid, and manquelleris, and fornycatouris, and to witchis, and worschiperis of idols, and to alle lieris, the part of hem shal be in the pool brennynge with fier and brymstoon, that is the secounde deth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But ye should say,.... Here Job directs his friends what use they should make of this confession of his faith; they should upon this say within themselves, and to one another,

why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? Why should we pursue him with hard words, and load him with censures and reproaches, as if he was an hypocrite, when it appears, by what he says, that he has truth in the inward parts, the true grace of God is in him; that he is rooted in the love of God, and in the person of the Redeemer; that he has the Spirit of God in him, and the divine seed which has taken root in him, and brings forth fruit: or that "the root of the word" k is in him; the word of God has a place in him, and is become the ingrafted word; the root doctrines, the principal and fundamental truths of religion, are believed and professed by him, such as respect the incarnation of the Messiah, his resurrection from the dead, and coming to judgment, the resurrection of all the dead in the same body, a future state of happiness, in which saints will enjoy the beatific vision; since these things are firmly believed by him, though he may differ from us in some points about the methods of divine Providence, let us cease from persecuting him any further; see

Romans 10:8.

k שרש דבר "radix verbi", Montanus, Mercerus, Schmidt, Michaelis; "radix sermonis", Cocceius; "fundamenta negotii salutis", Tigurine version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But ye should say - Noyes renders this, “Since ye say, ‘How may we persecute him, and find grounds of accusation against him?’” Dr. Good,

Then shall ye say, “How did we persecute him?”

When the root of the matter is disclosed in me.

The Vulgate, “Why now do ye say, let us persecute him, and find ground of accusation - “radicem verbi” against him?” The Septuagint, “If you also say, What shall we say against him? and what ground of accusation - ῥίζαν λόγου rizan logou - shall we find in him?” Rosenmuller renders it, “When you say, let us persecute him, and see what ground of accusation we can find in him, then fear the sword.” Most critics concur in such an interpretation as implies that they had sought a ground of accusation against him, and that they would have occasion to fear the divine displeasure on account of it. It seems to me, however, that our translators have given substantially the fair sense of the Hebrew. A slight variation would, perhaps, better express the idea: “For you will yet say, Why did we persecute him? The root of the matter was found in him - and since this will be the case, fear now that justice will overtake you for it, for vengeance will not always slumber when a friend of God is wronged.”

Seeing the root of the matter - Margin, “and” what “root of matter is found in me.” The word rendered “matter” (דבר dâbâr), “word or thing.” means, properly, word or thing - and may refer to “any” thing. Here it is used in one of the two opposite senses, “piety” or “guilt” - as being “the thing” under consideration. The interpretation to be adopted must depend on the view taken of the other words of the sentence. To me it seems that it denotes piety, and that the idea is, that the root of true piety was in him, or that he was not a hypocrite. The word root is so common as to need no explanation. It is used sometimes to denote the “bottom,” or the lowest part of anything - as e. g., the foot (see Job 13:27, “margin”), the bottom of the mountains Job 28:9, or of the sea, Job 36:30, “margin.” Here it means the foundation, support, or source - as the root is of a tree; and the sense, I suppose, is, that he was not a dead trunk, but he was like a tree that had a root, and consequently support and life. Many critics, however, among whom is Gesenius, suppose that it means that the root of the controversy, that is, the ground of strife, was in “him,” or that he was the cause of the whole dispute.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Job 19:28. But ye should say — Or, Then ye shall say.

Why persecute we him — Or, as Mr. Good, How did we persecute him! Alas! we are now convinced that we did wrong.

Seeing the root of the matter — A pure practice, and a sound hope, resting on the solid ground of sound faith, received from God himself. Instead of בי bi, in ME, בי bo, in HIM, is the reading of more than one hundred of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in several of the versions. Seeing the root of the matter is found in HIM.


 
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