Job 30:20

I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me,.... Which added greatly to his affliction, that though he cried to the Lord for help and deliverance, yet he turned a deaf ear to him; and though he heard

And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. Job's outward calamities affect his mind. Poured out - in irrepressible complaints (Psalms 42:4; Joshua 7:5). Verse 17.

Thou dost not hear me, to wit, so as to answer or help me. I stand up, or, I stand, to wit, before thee, i.e. I pray, as this phrase signifies, 18:20, this being a gesture of prayer, . And so the same thing is here repeated in other words, after the manner. Or, I persist or persevere in praying; I pray importunately and continually, as thou requirest. Thou regardest me not; so the particle not is supplied out of the former clause. Or without the negation, thou knowest or observest me, and all my griefs and cries, and yet dost not pity nor help me, but rather takest pleasure in the contemplation of my calamities, as the following words imply. Or it may be taken interrogatively, Dost thou regard me? i.e. thou dost not.

Job 30:20 I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me [not].Ver. 20. I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me] This was a sore trial, that God should cast him into straits, and there leave him. His enemies indeed he usually dealeth so by, Ezekiel 22:20; Ezekiel 29:5, but not by his servants, Hebrews 13:5. Or if he do leave them, yet he will not forsake them. The mother leaves her child sometimes, but when he setteth up his note and crieth lustily, she hasteneth to help him. So doth God: but now Job cried unto him, and was not heard or answered, to his thinking at least, and that was a great cut to him, as Psalms 22:2. I stand up] sc. To make supplication to my judge, as Haman stood up to make request for his life, Esther 7:7, as the publican stood and prayed, Luke 18:13, and as Moses and Samuel are supposed to stand before God in prayer for their people, Jeremiah 15:1. Hence that proverb among the Jews, Absque stationibus, non staret mundus, Did not the saints stand in prayer, the world could not stand. And thou regardest me not] This was but a mistake in Job, for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers. Only God answereth our prayer, non secundum voluntatem, tamen ad utilitatem. Not always or as soon as we would, but doth that which is better for us, and takes it ill to be misconstrued, as he was by Job; witness the next words, bloody words indeed, and not far from blasphemy. Accusat ergo Iob Dominum mendacii (Brent.). Contumeliosus videri potest (Merl.).

(20) Thou regardest me not.—The Authorised Version understands that the negative of the first clause must be supplied in the second, as is the case in Psalms 9:18 : “The needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.” Others understand it, “I stand up (i.e., to pray) in the attitude of prayer, and Thou lookest at me,” i.e., and doest no more with mute indifference.

Verse 20. I cry unto thee] I am persecuted by man, afflicted with sore disease, and apparently forsaken of God. I stand up] Or, as some translate, "I persevere, and thou lookest upon me." Thou seest my desolate, afflicted state; but thine eye doth not affect thy heart. Thou leavest me unsupported to struggle with my adversities.

20. This verse reads, I cry unto thee and thou dost not hear me, I stand up, and thou lookest at me. The second clause describes Job’s importunity in his appeal, but the only reply is that God “looketh” at him, i. e. with silent indifference, or in stern severity.

I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me - This was a complaint which Job often made, that he could not get the ear of God; that his prayer was not regarded, and that he could not get his cause

20. Hear — Rather, answer. Regardest me (omit not) — Job takes the reverential attitude of a suppliant, and God looks upon him calmly and pitilessly.