Job 16:7 kjv
But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company.
Job 16:7 nkjv
But now He has worn me out; You have made desolate all my company.
Job 16:7 niv
Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household.
Job 16:7 esv
Surely now God has worn me out; he has made desolate all my company.
Job 16:7 nlt
"O God, you have ground me down
and devastated my family.
Job 16 7 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Job 10:1-3 | "I loathe my own life... I will speak in the bitterness of my soul..." | Job's profound despair and complaint. |
| Job 7:16 | "I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath." | Job desires release from his suffering. |
| Job 13:21 | "Remove Your hand from me, and let not Your terror frighten me." | Plea for God to cease his perceived assault. |
| Job 19:21-22 | "Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me!" | Acknowledgment of divine origin of suffering. |
| Ps 6:6-7 | "I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim..." | Similar themes of physical and emotional exhaustion. |
| Ps 22:1-2 | "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far...?" | Christ's lament echoing a feeling of abandonment. |
| Ps 38:6-8 | "I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all day long..." | Expresses physical and emotional suffering. |
| Ps 77:3-6 | "I cried out to God with my voice... my soul refused to be comforted." | Inconsolable grief and questioning God's actions. |
| Ps 88:1-9 | "I am shut up so that I cannot go out... Your terrors destroy me." | Intense feeling of being imprisoned by suffering. |
| Ps 102:3-5 | "My days vanish like smoke... My heart is smitten and withered..." | Weariness and the consumption of life by affliction. |
| Lam 3:1-18 | "He has led me and made me walk In darkness... He has besieged me..." | Prophetic lament of suffering seen as God's action. |
| Lam 3:32-33 | "For though He causes grief, Yet He will have compassion..." | Contrast: divine grief, but also divine mercy. |
| Ps 66:10 | "For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined." | God's allowing suffering for refinement, not just punishment. |
| Isa 45:7 | "The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity..." | God's comprehensive sovereignty over all things. |
| Isa 55:8-9 | "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways..." | God's ways are beyond human comprehension. |
| Rom 11:33-36 | "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable..." | God's inscrutable wisdom, often misunderstood by humans. |
| 1 Pet 1:6-7 | "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials..." | Trials test faith for ultimate praise and glory. |
| Heb 12:11 | "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained..." | Suffering as a form of divine discipline or training. |
| Ps 34:18 | "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." | God's closeness to the afflicted, despite feelings. |
| Ps 147:3 | "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." | God's ultimate role as healer and restorer. |
Job 16 verses
Job 16 7 Meaning
Job 16:7 expresses Job's deep anguish and direct accusation against God for his unbearable suffering. He feels utterly depleted and targeted by divine action, perceiving that God has not only worn him out but has also systematically destroyed his entire circle of life, leaving him desolate.
Job 16 7 Context
Job 16 falls within the second cycle of speeches between Job and his friends. At this point, Job has completely exhausted his patience with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who continue to accuse him of secret sin as the cause of his suffering, adhering to a strict retribution theology. In chapters 12-14, Job asserts his wisdom, mourns his condition, and questions God's treatment of him. By chapter 16, Job turns from addressing his friends, whom he calls "miserable comforters" (Job 16:2), to a direct, impassioned lament and accusation against God Himself. His words are not reasoned theological arguments but a raw cry of a man pushed to his breaking point. He sees God as the source of his tribulation, not as a loving sovereign but as a formidable adversary. This verse intensifies Job's protest, emphasizing his physical, mental, and social desolation as a direct act of God.
Job 16 7 Word analysis
But now (וְעַתָּה, wəʿattāh):
- Meaning: "And now" or "But now." It introduces a sharp transition in Job's speech.
- Significance: Shifts from Job addressing his friends' futile words (Job 16:1-6) to a direct, heightened accusation and lament before God. It signals the immediate and present nature of his distress.
he has wearied me (הִתְלְאֲנִי, hitləʾaní from לאה, la'ah):
- Meaning: To be tired, worn out, exhausted; to be in a state of weariness, both physically and spiritually.
- Significance: The verb is Hiphil perfect from la'ah, indicating that God (the "he" in the general context of God's action in Job 16:6) has caused Job to be utterly worn out. It speaks of a deep, pervasive fatigue that has permeated Job's very being due to his prolonged and intense suffering. It's not just physical tiredness, but a soul-deep exhaustion from wrestling with his pain and his understanding of God.
You have devastated (הֲשִׁמּוֹתָ, haššîmôtāh from שמם, šamēm):
- Meaning: To make desolate, lay waste, stun, appall, ruin.
- Significance: This verb is Hiphil perfect and directs the accusation squarely at God ("You"). It signifies an active, destructive force, emphasizing that the state of desolation is a direct result of divine intervention. It conveys the total ruination Job experiences – his health, family, property, reputation, and sense of well-being are all laid waste as if by an intentional act. The transition from "he" to "You" further intensifies Job's direct confrontational lament towards God.
my entire household (כָּל־עֲדָתִי, kol-ʿadātî):
- Meaning: kol means "all," "every," "entire." 'adātî is "my company," "my assembly," "my community," "my circle."
- Significance: The word 'edah (עֵדָה) typically refers to a formal gathering, assembly, or community, most often associated with the "congregation" of Israel (e.g., in the wilderness narratives). Here, its use in Job’s personal lament is unique and profound. It likely encompasses his children, servants, associates, and everything that constituted his social and communal life – his sphere of influence and comfort. It refers to the entire structured reality of his prosperous life, which has now been utterly shattered. This goes beyond just physical possessions to the fabric of his human connections and his place in society. It represents the full extent of the ruin that has befallen him, a total eradication of his well-being and social fabric.
Word-groups analysis:
- "he has wearied me; You have devastated": This highlights Job's dual perception of God's action. First, a general, sustained exhaustion imposed by God, followed by a direct, personal, and complete demolition attributed explicitly to God. The shift from third-person "he" to second-person "You" in reference to God shows Job’s escalating boldness in directly challenging and accusing his Maker, laying full responsibility at God's feet.
- "wearied me...devastated my entire household": This phrase encapsulates the two prongs of Job’s suffering: internal (weariness of spirit, mind, body) and external (the complete destruction of his social and economic fabric). His life, from the deepest internal recesses to his widest social circle, has been laid waste by what he perceives as God's deliberate and intense actions against him.
Job 16 7 Bonus section
The precise meaning of 'edah in this context (my 'edah) has been a point of scholarly discussion. While "household" captures the comprehensiveness of Job's loss, it is also significant that this term primarily designates the collective body of Israel or an assembly. Some scholars suggest its unique application here highlights Job’s personal identification with being utterly cut off from the “assembly of the righteous” or that his former esteemed position in the community has been made desolate, reinforcing his feeling of isolation and alienation, even from divine favour. It can imply the totality of his being – not just his family unit but his entire established world and sphere of influence. Job is accusing God of laying waste not just things around him, but the very structure of his life and being.
Job 16 7 Commentary
Job 16:7 is a raw outburst of human despair and a poignant example of biblical lament. It captures the essence of Job's struggle: feeling targeted and systematically dismantled by the very God he previously served wholeheartedly. The verse reflects a profound disorientation in Job's theology—his experience fundamentally contradicts the simplistic belief system of his friends. He asserts that his suffering is not a consequence of his sin but an unprovoked attack from God. The choice of "entire household" (עֲדָתִי) underscores the comprehensive nature of his loss, extending beyond family and possessions to his very social identity and the structured order of his life, which has been brought to desolation by what he attributes to divine wrath. Job sees God as the one inflicting exhaustion and ruin, which deepens his spiritual crisis, pushing him to challenge the conventional understanding of God's justice and providence.