Job 19:23

I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book,

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Job addresses his three friends during a moment of acute physical and emotional distress, immediately following his accusation that they persecute him as God does. He voices a desperate wish for his defense to be permanently preserved.

The words — The opening phrase מִֽי־ יִתֵּן (mi-yitten, "who will give") functions as an exclamatory wish. It is paired with בַּסֵּפֶר (ba-sefer, "on the scroll"), identifying the specific medium for recording his words.

The thread — The command to inscribe testimony for future witness appears in Isaiah 30:8 and Isaiah 8:1. Job 31:35 mirrors this impulse by requesting a permanent record so the Almighty may respond to his case.

Why it lands — The text observes the human drive to secure vindication against forgetfulness and false accusation. It asks a reader to consider what guarantees the endurance of truth and whether preservation alone constitutes justice.

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

מִֽי־mi-who?יִתֵּ֣ןyi.Tenwill he give אֵ֭פוֹ'e.fothen וְיִכָּתְב֣וּןve./yi.ka.te.Vu/nand/ they will be written down/ !מִלָּ֑יmi.La/iwords/ my מִֽי־mi-who?יִתֵּ֖ןyi.Tenwill he give בַּסֵּ֣פֶרba./Se.feron the/ scroll וְיֻחָֽקוּ׃ve./yu.Cha.kuso/ they may be inscribed

King James Version

Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!

Cross-references

Isaiah 30:8 Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
Job 31:35 (Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.
Isaiah 8:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.