Bible Strands
Job 17:2
Surely mockers surround me, and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Job speaks to his companions and to God immediately after describing his broken spirit and the approaching grave in the preceding verse. He addresses his current isolation and the hostile attention he is receiving.
The words — The phrase אִם־לֹא הֲתֻלִים עִמָּדִי combines הַתֻּלִים (hatulim, mockeries) and עִמָּדִי (imadi, with me) to pose a rhetorical question about the presence of derision. The root תּוּל (tul) in הַתֻּלִים denotes the act of mocking or treating as a joke.
The thread — The theme of being mocked by close associates runs through Job 12:4 where friends become a laughingstock, and Job 16:20 where companions function as scoffers while tears are poured out to God. The parallel taunting in 1 Samuel 1:6 shows a similar pattern of relational hostility.
Why it lands — The text reports that mockeries are present with the speaker and that his eyes are fixed on their rebellion. It requires a reader to recognize that the distress comes from the proximity of those who should offer comfort, framing the subsequent plea for a divine guarantor in Job 17:3.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Are there not mockers with me? and doth not mine eye continue in their provocation?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 1:6 Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her.
- Job 12:4 I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.
- Job 16:20 My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.
- Matthew 27:39 And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads
- Job 13:9 Would it be well when He examined you? Could you deceive Him as you would deceive a man?
- Job 21:3 Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
- Psalms 25:13 His soul will dwell in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.
- Psalms 35:14 I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
- Psalms 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.