Bible Strands
Job 19:2
“How long will you torment me and crush me with your words?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses his three friends immediately after they open their second round of speeches. He poses a direct question to them regarding the duration of their verbal assaults.
The words — The Hebrew terms תּוֹגְי֣וּ (tog.yu) and תְדַכְּאוּ (te.da.ke.u) literally mean "will you torment" and "will you crush," directly linked to בְּמִלִּים (be.mi.lim), "with words." Job frames this complaint with אָ֭נָה ('A.nah), "when?" or "how long," to mark the repetitive nature of their speech.
The thread — This repeated "How long" complaint against verbal attacks appears in Job 8:2 and Job 18:2, where the friends mirror the same structure regarding their own speeches. The pattern of words causing physical or emotional exhaustion also surfaces in Judges 16:16.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of how persistent speech can operate as a tool of oppression rather than comfort. It requires the reader to confront the tangible fatigue produced by unrelenting accusations and the necessity of verbal restraint.
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
How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words?
Cross-references
- Judges 16:16 Finally, after she had pressed him daily with her words and pleaded until he was sick to death,
- Job 8:2 “How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.
- Job 18:2 “How long until you end these speeches? Show some sense, and then we can talk.
- Job 27:2 “As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—
- Psalms 6:2 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.
- Psalms 13:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
- Psalms 42:10 Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 55:21 His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
- Psalms 59:7 See what they spew from their mouths—sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”
- Psalms 64:3 who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows,