Job 13:4
New International Version
You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you!

New Living Translation
As for you, you smear me with lies. As physicians, you are worthless quacks.

English Standard Version
As for you, you whitewash with lies; worthless physicians are you all.

Berean Standard Bible
You, however, smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians.

King James Bible
But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

New King James Version
But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians.

New American Standard Bible
“But you smear me with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

NASB 1995
“But you smear with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

NASB 1977
“But you smear with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

Legacy Standard Bible
But you cover me with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

Amplified Bible
“But you smear me with lies [you defame my character most untruthfully]; You are all worthless physicians and have no remedy to offer.

Christian Standard Bible
You use lies like plaster; you are all worthless healers.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But you coat the truth with lies; you are all worthless doctors.

American Standard Version
But ye are forgers of lies; Ye are all physicians of no value.

Contemporary English Version
you are merely useless doctors, who treat me with lies.

English Revised Version
But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But you are smearing me with lies. All of you are worthless physicians.

Good News Translation
You cover up your ignorance with lies; you are like doctors who can't heal anyone.

International Standard Version
"But as for you, you whitewash with lies; all of you are worthless quacks.

Majority Standard Bible
You, however, smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians.

NET Bible
But you, however, are inventors of lies; all of you are worthless physicians!

New Heart English Bible
But you are forgers of lies. You are all physicians of no value.

Webster's Bible Translation
But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

World English Bible
But you are forgers of lies. You are all physicians of no value.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And yet, you [are] forgers of falsehood, "" Physicians of nothing—all of you,

Young's Literal Translation
And yet, ye are forgers of falsehood, Physicians of nought -- all of you,

Smith's Literal Translation
And on the contrary, ye devise falsehood; physicians all of you for nothing.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Having first shewn that you are forgers of lies, and maintainers of perverse opinions.

Catholic Public Domain Version
having first shown that you fabricate lies and cultivate perverse teachings.

New American Bible
But you gloss over falsehoods, you are worthless physicians, every one of you!

New Revised Standard Version
As for you, you whitewash with lies; all of you are worthless physicians.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But you are forgers of lies; you are all healers of no value.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
However, you are speaking falsehood, and you are healers of nothing
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
But ye are plasterers of lies, Ye are all physicians of no value.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But ye are all bad physicians, and healers of diseases.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job Reproves His Friends
3Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God. 4You, however, smear with lies; you are all worthless physicians. 5If only you would remain silent; for that would be your wisdom!…

Cross References
Jeremiah 8:22
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

Psalm 38:11
My beloved and friends shun my disease, and my kinsmen stand at a distance.

Isaiah 1:6
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.

Jeremiah 30:13
There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sores, no recovery for you.

Hosea 5:13
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.

Matthew 9:12
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

Mark 2:17
On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Luke 5:31
Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

1 Timothy 1:7
They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert.

2 Corinthians 11:13
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:19-20
For you gladly put up with fools, since you are so wise. / In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.

Galatians 6:3
If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Romans 3:10
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.

Romans 3:13
“Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”

Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.


Treasury of Scripture

But you are forgers of lies, you are all physicians of no value.

ye are forgers

Job 4:7-11
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? …

Job 5:1-5
Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? …

Job 8:3,4
Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? …

physicians

Job 6:21
For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

Job 16:2
I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.

Jeremiah 6:14
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

Jump to Previous
Attempts Face False. Falsehood However Indeed Lies Nought Physicians Plasterers Right Smear Value Whitewash Worthless
Jump to Next
Attempts Face False. Falsehood However Indeed Lies Nought Physicians Plasterers Right Smear Value Whitewash Worthless
Job 13
1. Job reproves his friends for partiality
14. He professes his confidence in God;
19. and entreats to know his own sins, and God's purpose in afflicting him














You, however
This phrase marks a contrast between Job and his friends. In the Hebrew text, the word "you" is emphasized, indicating a direct address to his friends. Job is setting the stage to differentiate his perspective from theirs. Historically, Job's friends were considered wise men, yet Job is challenging their wisdom, suggesting that their counsel is not only unhelpful but also harmful.

smear with lies
The Hebrew word for "smear" can also mean to "plaster" or "whitewash," suggesting a superficial covering that hides the truth. Job accuses his friends of distorting reality, offering falsehoods instead of genuine comfort or truth. This phrase implies a deliberate act of deception, which is a serious accusation in the context of ancient Near Eastern values where truth and integrity were highly esteemed.

you are all
Job's use of "all" indicates that he is not singling out one friend but is addressing the collective failure of all his friends. This collective indictment underscores the depth of Job's disappointment and the extent of their failure to provide true wisdom or comfort.

worthless physicians
The term "physicians" in the ancient world referred to healers who were expected to provide remedies and relief. By calling them "worthless," Job is highlighting their inability to offer any real help or healing. In the Hebrew context, a physician's worth was measured by their ability to heal, and Job's friends, in their attempts to diagnose his suffering, have proven ineffective and even damaging, much like a doctor who misdiagnoses a patient.

(4) Ye are forgers of lies.--He now retorts upon his friends in terms not more deferential than their own, and calls them scrapers together, or patchers up, of falsehood, and physicians who are powerless to heal, or even to understand the case. He feels that they have failed miserably and utterly to understand him.

Verse 4. - But ye are forgers of lies. A harsh expression, indicating that Job was thoroughly exasperated. The lies which his friends had forged were, partly, misrepresentations of what he had said, as for example Job 11:4, but mainly statements, more or less covert, which implied that he had brought all his calamities on himself by a course of evil-doing (see Job 4:7, 8; Job 8:13, 14; Job 11:11, 14, 20). Ye are all physicians of no value. Job's friends had come to him to "comfort" him (Job 2:11), and act as physicians of his soul. But they had entirely failed to be of the least service. They had not even understood his case.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
You,
אַתֶּ֥ם (’at·tem)
Pronoun - second person masculine plural
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

however,
וְֽאוּלָ֗ם (wə·’ū·lām)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 199: However, on the contrary

smear
טֹֽפְלֵי־ (ṭō·p̄ə·lê-)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2950: To stick on as a, patch, to impute falsely

with lies;
שָׁ֑קֶר (šā·qer)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 8267: Deception, disappointment, falsehood

you are all
כֻּלְּכֶֽם׃ (kul·lə·ḵem)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

worthless
אֱלִ֣ל (’ĕ·lil)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 457: Good for, nothing, by anal, vain, vanity, an idol

physicians.
רֹפְאֵ֖י (rō·p̄ə·’ê)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct
Strong's 7495: To mend, to cure


Links
Job 13:4 NIV
Job 13:4 NLT
Job 13:4 ESV
Job 13:4 NASB
Job 13:4 KJV

Job 13:4 BibleApps.com
Job 13:4 Biblia Paralela
Job 13:4 Chinese Bible
Job 13:4 French Bible
Job 13:4 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Job 13:4 But you are forgers of lies (Jb)
Job 13:3
Top of Page
Top of Page