Job 16:18
New International Version
“Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest!

New Living Translation
“O earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it cry out on my behalf.

English Standard Version
“O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place.

Berean Standard Bible
O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.

King James Bible
O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.

New King James Version
“O earth, do not cover my blood, And let my cry have no resting place!

New American Standard Bible
“Earth, do not cover my blood, And may there be no resting place for my cry.

NASB 1995
“O earth, do not cover my blood, And let there be no resting place for my cry.

NASB 1977
“O earth, do not cover my blood, And let there be no resting place for my cry.

Legacy Standard Bible
“O earth, do not cover my blood, And let there be no resting place for my cry.

Amplified Bible
“O earth, do not cover my blood, And let there be no [resting] place for my cry [where it will cease being heard].

Christian Standard Bible
Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help find no resting place.

American Standard Version
O earth, cover not thou my blood, And let my cry have no resting #NAME?

Contemporary English Version
If I should die, I beg the earth not to cover my cry for justice.

English Revised Version
O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no resting place.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Earth, don't cover my blood. Don't ever let my cry [for justice] be stopped.

Good News Translation
O Earth, don't hide the wrongs done to me! Don't let my call for justice be silenced!

International Standard Version
"Listen, earth! Don't cover my blood, for my outcry has no place to rest.

Majority Standard Bible
O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.

NET Bible
"O earth, do not cover my blood, nor let there be a secret place for my cry.

New Heart English Bible
"Earth, do not cover my blood. Let my cry have no place to rest.

Webster's Bible Translation
O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.

World English Bible
“Earth, don’t cover my blood. Let my cry have no place to rest.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
O earth, do not cover my blood! And let there not be a place for my cry.

Young's Literal Translation
O earth, do not thou cover my blood! And let there not be a place for my cry.

Smith's Literal Translation
O earth, thou wilt not cover my blood; and shall there not be place for my cry?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
O earth, cover not thou my blood, neither let my cry find a hiding place in thee.

Catholic Public Domain Version
O earth, do not conceal my blood, nor let my outcry find a hiding place in you.

New American Bible
O earth, do not cover my blood, nor let my outcry come to rest!

New Revised Standard Version
“O earth, do not cover my blood; let my outcry find no resting place.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry have no place!

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The Earth will not cover my blood and there shall be no place for my cry
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
O earth, cover not thou my blood, And let my cry have no resting-place.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Earth, cover not over the blood of my flesh, and let my cry have no place.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Decries his Comforters
17yet my hands are free of violence and my prayer is pure. 18O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest. 19Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is on high.…

Cross References
Genesis 4:10
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Isaiah 26:21
For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.

Revelation 6:10
And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”

Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Numbers 35:33
Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

Psalm 9:12
For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Luke 11:50-51
As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, / from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.

Matthew 23:35
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

Jeremiah 2:34
Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things

Ezekiel 24:7-8
For the blood she shed is still within her; she poured it out on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust. / In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have placed her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.’

Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

2 Kings 9:26
‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”

Deuteronomy 21:1-9
If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, / your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities. / Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work, ...

Psalm 119:84
How many days must Your servant wait? When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?

Psalm 79:10
Why should the nations ask, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations Your vengeance for the bloodshed of Your servants.


Treasury of Scripture

O earth, cover not you my blood, and let my cry have no place.

O earth

Jeremiah 22:29
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

cover not

Genesis 4:11
And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

Nehemiah 4:5
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

Isaiah 26:21
For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

let my cry

Job 27:9
Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him?

Psalm 66:18,19
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: …

Isaiah 1:15
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

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Job 16
1. Job reproves his friends for unmercifulness
17. He maintains his innocence














O earth, do not cover my blood
This phrase reflects Job's deep anguish and desire for justice. In the Hebrew context, the earth covering blood signifies a plea for vindication. In ancient times, unavenged blood cried out for justice, as seen in Genesis 4:10 with Abel's blood. Job's cry is a profound expression of his innocence and a call for divine acknowledgment of his suffering. The earth, in this sense, is personified as a witness to his plight, and Job implores it not to hide his cries for justice.

may my cry never be laid to rest
Here, Job emphasizes the perpetual nature of his plea. The Hebrew word for "cry" can also denote a shout or a call for help, indicating the intensity of Job's appeal. The phrase "never be laid to rest" suggests an ongoing, unresolved issue, highlighting Job's relentless pursuit of truth and justice. In the broader scriptural context, this reflects the belief in a God who hears and responds to the cries of the righteous, as seen in Psalm 34:17. Job's unwavering faith in divine justice, despite his circumstances, serves as an inspiration for believers to persist in their faith and trust in God's ultimate righteousness.

(18) Let my cry have no place.--That is, "Let there be no place in the wide earth where my cry shall not reach: let it have no resting place: let it fill the whole wide earth."

Verse 18. - O earth, cover not thou my blood! There was a widespread belief in the ancient world that innocent blood, spilt upon the ground, cried to God for vengeance, and remained a dark blot upon the earth till it was avenged, or until it was covered up. Job apostrophizes the earth, and be-seethes it not to cover up his blood when he dies, as he expects to do, shortly. And let my cry have no place; i.e. let it have no hiding-place, but fill earth and heaven. Let it continue to be heard until it is answered.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
O earth,
אֶ֭רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

do not
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

cover
תְּכַסִּ֣י (tə·ḵas·sî)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person feminine singular
Strong's 3680: To plump, fill up hollows, to cover

my blood;
דָמִ֑י (ḏā·mî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1818: Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed

may my cry for help
לְזַעֲקָתִֽי׃ (lə·za·‘ă·qā·ṯî)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 2201: A shriek, outcry

never
וְֽאַל־ (wə·’al-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

be
יְהִ֥י (yə·hî)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

laid to rest.
מָ֝ק֗וֹם (mā·qō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition


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OT Poetry: Job 16:18 Earth don't cover my blood (Jb)
Job 16:17
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