Job 16 8

Job 16:8 kjv

And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face.

Job 16:8 nkjv

You have shriveled me up, And it is a witness against me; My leanness rises up against me And bears witness to my face.

Job 16:8 niv

You have shriveled me up?and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.

Job 16:8 esv

And he has shriveled me up, which is a witness against me, and my leanness has risen up against me; it testifies to my face.

Job 16:8 nlt

As if to prove I have sinned, you've reduced me to skin and bones.
My gaunt flesh testifies against me.

Job 16 verses

Job 16 8 Meaning

Job 16:8 conveys Job's profound despair and his conviction that God is directly responsible for his suffering, to the extent that his very body has become a self-incriminating witness against him. He believes that God has "shriveled him up," causing physical decay (leanness and emaciation), which then "rises up" like a prosecutor's evidence "to his face," providing undeniable testimony of his (perceived) guilt or the divine hand against him, fulfilling the very accusation his friends leveled. Job experiences his own decaying body not merely as an affliction but as God's public, irrefutable indictment.

Job 16 8 Context

Job 16:8 is part of Job's third discourse, specifically his reply to Eliphaz in chapter 15. In chapters 15-17, Job increasingly despairs of receiving justice from God or understanding His ways. He rejects his friends' rigid doctrine that his immense suffering must be punishment for specific sins. Instead, Job posits that God Himself is his tormentor and accuser, having launched a direct assault on him. This verse exemplifies Job's deep conviction that his visible, horrifying physical condition is not merely a consequence of sin, but an explicit and active testimony arranged by God against him, validating the accusations of his friends and denying his proclaimed innocence. His world is upside down, with the one he trusts acting as his adversary, using his own body as incriminating evidence.

Job 16 8 Word analysis

• You have shriveled me up,

  • wattəqāṃṭēnî (וַתְּקָמְטֵ֙נִי֙): The verb qāmaṭ (קמט) means "to seize, grasp, draw together, shrivel." It indicates an active, aggressive, and forceful action on God's part. It portrays God as actively contracting or bringing about the physical decay, not just allowing it. It conveys Job's feeling of being physically bound and wasted away by divine power. The suffix '-ēnî' signifies 'me', highlighting Job as the direct recipient of this action.

• which has become a witness against me;

  • lə‘ēḏ (לְעֵ֣ד): "as a witness." ‘ēḏ (עֵד) is a crucial legal term denoting a witness or testimony, particularly in judicial contexts (e.g., Dt 19:15). Job's body isn't just decaying; its decay serves as proof, a legal exhibit.
  • hāyâ (הָיָ֔ה): "it has become." This verb signifies transformation. What God did to Job has become the very thing that accuses him. This connects the act of God directly to its interpretive, accusatory consequence.

• my leanness

  • kaḥăšî (כַּחֲשִׁ֥י): "my leanness" or "my wasting away." From the root kāḥash (כָּחַשׁ), meaning to become lean, wasted, or emaciated. It specifically refers to physical deterioration. This visible sign of suffering, Job claims, acts as a 'witness.' It's not a secret condition but a glaring, physical fact, exposed to all.

• rises up against me,

  • wayyāqōm (וַיָּ֥קָם): "and it rises up/stands." From qûm (קוּם), meaning to stand, rise. This verb also carries legal connotations, often used when an accuser "rises up" in court against someone. It suggests an active, accusatory stance by his own body.
  • bî (בִּ֖י): "against me." While bî typically means "in me" or "on me," in this context, when combined with 'rises up,' it denotes active opposition or accusation 'against me.'

• testifying to my face.

  • fānāy (פָּנָֽי): "my face" or "to my face." Pānîm (פָּנִים) refers to the face or presence. "To my face" indicates a direct, unavoidable, and public accusation. There is no escaping this testimony because it is visibly manifest on Job's very being.

• Words-group by words-group analysis:

  • "You have shriveled me up, which has become a witness against me;": This phrase powerfully states Job's core complaint: God is the active agent of his suffering ("shriveled me up"). Furthermore, the very result of this divine action—his physical decay—has ironically been transformed by God into damning evidence ("a witness") against him. It highlights Job's sense of entrapment, where his pain is not merely a consequence but a deliberate, testimonial act by God.
  • "my leanness rises up against me, testifying to my face.": This portion personifies Job's physical state. His emaciation is not static but dynamically "rises up" like a prosecutor. It presents the case against Job to his "face," making the accusation inescapable and personal. This intensifies Job's feeling of shame and exposure, where his visible suffering outwardly affirms his supposed guilt in the eyes of his friends and, to his horror, in his own perception of God's actions.

Job 16 8 Bonus section

The profound paradox in this verse is that Job, who steadfastly claims his innocence, is consumed by the idea that his outward, undeniable suffering acts as God's witness to his sinfulness. This reveals the immense weight of the prevailing retribution theology of his time. Even when innocent, the public physical degradation validated the conventional belief system, driving Job into a profound spiritual crisis where his greatest pain came not just from physical agony but from God's perceived role as his divine antagonist and accuser. Job feels God has manufactured the evidence that convicts him in the eyes of the world, making his battle not just with sickness but with the very meaning assigned to his suffering.

Job 16 8 Commentary

Job 16:8 articulates Job's profound sense of abandonment and betrayal by God. He is utterly convinced that his physical wretchedness, rather than being mere sickness, is a deliberate, active work of God. It's not passive suffering but an aggressive act by the Divine that has twisted his body into an undeniable "witness" (a term often used in judicial contexts) against his declared innocence. The "shriveling" suggests a deliberate and cruel act of shrinking him down, reducing him to a mere shell. This shriveled state then actively "rises up" as an accuser, making a public spectacle of his suffering.

This verse captures the depth of Job's agony as he grapples with traditional wisdom. His friends assume physical suffering directly proves hidden sin. Job vehemently denies personal wrongdoing, yet he cannot deny his grotesque physical appearance. Therefore, in his despair, he concludes that God himself is confirming the false charges against him by causing the visible signs of a guilty man. Job perceives God as not merely distant but as actively participating in his condemnation, using Job's own body as Exhibit A in a cosmic court where Job is the victim, but also made to appear as the perpetrator. It highlights a critical tension: Job holds onto his righteousness while witnessing his own body being used as evidence against his innocence by God Himself.