Bible Strands
Job 7:11
Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Job addresses God while fearing total obscurity after death. He declares his refusal to remain silent despite his profound suffering.
The words — The Hebrew אֶחֱשָׂ֫ךְ פִּי ('e.che.Sakh p/i) literally means "I will restrain my mouth," and בְּצַר רוּחִי (be.Tzar ru.Ch/i) translates to "in the distress of my spirit." These terms frame the vow as a deliberate breaking of silence amid internal anguish.
The thread — The same structural vow to voice complaint in bitterness appears in Job 10:1. The parallel motif of refusing to seal one's lips while addressing God occurs in Psalms 40:9.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to acknowledge that raw speech is a valid response to suffering rather than a failure of piety. It asks for direct engagement with God instead of suppressed silence.
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
Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 1:10 In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.
- Psalms 40:9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; behold, I do not seal my lips, as You, O LORD, do know.
- Job 10:1 “I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Job 6:26 Do you intend to correct my words, and treat as wind my cry of despair?
- Job 21:25 Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
- Isaiah 38:15 What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
- Isaiah 38:17 Surely for my own welfare I had such great anguish; but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
- Genesis 42:21 Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
- 2 Kings 4:27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
- Job 10:15 If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.